Summary
- A Delta Air Lines A330-300 has been stranded in Barcelona after an engine failure during a flight to Atlanta, with passengers being accommodated on one other plane.
- The aircraft had flown multiple international routes without issue before the incident, and Delta’s priority is ensuring the security of its operations and apologizing for the delay to affected customers.
- Engine problems during flights are usually not unusual, as seen with recent incidents involving Lufthansa, China Airlines, Frontier Airlines, and United Airlines.
A 20-year-old Delta Air Lines A330-300 has remained in Barcelona El Prat (BCN) since an engine failure on February 1st. On the time of the failure, the aircraft was attempting to fly to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) as Delta flight 195, only to show back and return to BCN about an hour after departure.
The issue was detected when the aircraft climbed to 27,000 ft; at this point, it maintained its speed, stopped its climb, and started a turnback to Barcelona over the town of Zaragoza. The aircraft landed safely in BCN shortly afterward.
Photo: Flightradar24.com
Delta Air Lines told Easy Flying that the flight crew followed procedures to return to BCN after a performance issue with one engine was encountered after departure, adding that safety was the primary priority for its operation and apologizing to its customers on flight 195 for the delay.
In regards to the aircraft
The aircraft, registered N803NW, had flown a round trip from Recent York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), arriving back to BCN the day earlier. The aircraft had been energetic on several international routes for all of January without issue.
Photo: James Andrews1 via Shutterstock
Delta would then use a 22-year-old 767-400ER that was initially scheduled to fly from Frankfurt Airport (FRA) to JFK to retrieve the passengers at BCN, arriving in Atlanta the following day. That flight occurred without incident, nevertheless it is unclear what would occur to the passengers initially scheduled to fly between FRA and JFK.
For its part, N803NW was originally delivered to Northwest Airlines in 2003. Two Pratt & Whitney engines power the A330-300, and the airline operates greater than 30 of the kind. The common age of a Delta A330-300 is 15 years old. Delta moreover operates numerous A330-200s and A330-900s alongside a fleet of A350s and Boeing widebody aircraft.
Engine problems around
Turnbacks on international flights are usually not unusual, as aircrew closely monitor aircraft performance before crossing oceans. Days earlier, a Lufthansa A330-300 was also forced to return to FRA, making it all of the technique to the English Channel before the flight was discontinued resulting from an engine issue. That aircraft returned to the air on February 4th, making the long-haul flight to Manila, even though it’s unclear why because the destination will not be a Lufthansa route.
Photo: Fasttailwind/Shutterstock.
On January twentieth, an 18-year-old A330-300 operated by China Airlines returned to Taipei Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) an hour after departing for Hong Kong (HKG) due to a problem with cabin pressurization once it reached its cruising altitude. That flight itself was a short-haul flight and arrived back at TPE half-hour before the aircraft would have arrived at HKG.
In the USA last week, two A321s, each a neo and ceo variant, needed to return to their respective departure airports of Denver International Airport (DEN) and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) after engine problems. Those aircraft were in service with Frontier Airlines and United Airlines, operating domestic routes. Within the case of United Airlines, the Airbus A321neo involved had only been in service for 2 weeks before the incident.