An accident involving a Boeing 757 has reignited fears concerning the airplane manufacturer. A tire explosion on a Delta aircraft has killed two people and seriously injured a third person at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on the morning of August 27, 2024. Delta Air Lines has released a statement concerning the incident.
What caused the Boeing 757 accident with Delta?
The Boeing 757 accident was caused by a tire on the plane exploding while it was being removed within the Delta Air Lines maintenance area, as reported by WSB-TV‘s Channel 2 Action News in Atlanta.
A Delta employee and a contractor was killed during the incident. Another Delta employee suffered a major injury, but there’s no word yet on the person’s condition. The identities of the victims have not been released, and further details on the tire explosion have not been revealed pending investigation.
The accident occurred at 5 a.m., according to the Daily Mail. The headquarters of Delta TechOps, the maintenance division of Delta Air Lines, is based in Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
In a statement, Delta Air Lines said that it is “heartbroken at the loss of two team members and the injury of another” and extends its “full support to family members and colleagues during this incredibly difficult time.” The company is cooperating with local authorities and “conducting a full investigation to determine what happened.”
The Boeing 757 arrived in Atlanta from Las Vegas on Sunday night, August 25, according to available information based on the plane’s tail number. On Sunday, the aircraft completed four trips between Tampa, Atlanta, and Las Vegas. The Federal Aviation Administration is in communication with Delta concerning the accident.
Also on August 27, an Alaska Airlines flight on a Boeing 737 needed to turn around due to a “shutdown of the #1 engine on the left side of the aircraft,” according to Fox Business. In January, another Boeing 757 plane for Delta Air Lines lost its nose wheel before taking off at the same airport, as reported by CNN. The infamous incident of a rear door flying off a Boeing 737 Max 9 on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 also occurred in the same month.
