A Delta Air Lines flight returned to Los Angeles, California, on Saturday night after smoke was detected in the galley. Flight DL43, which was en route from Los Angeles International Airport to Sydney, Australia, safely landed back in Los Angeles shortly after takeoff. According to a Delta spokesperson, the flight crew adhered to established procedures to return to Los Angeles following the detection of smoke, emphasizing the importance of customer and crew safety. Delta apologized to passengers for the travel disruption.
The Airbus A350-900 aircraft was carrying 162 passengers at the time. It landed without incident and proceeded routinely to an arrival gate. Passengers were offered rebooking options later that night, as confirmed by the spokesperson.
The incident is part of a series of recent aircraft-related incidents in North America. Notably, a Delta flight operated by Endeavor Air recently crashed and overturned at Toronto Pearson Airport after departing from Minneapolis–St. Paul, resulting in injuries to over 20 people, including three critically wounded, though no fatalities were reported.
Additionally, several other air accidents have occurred recently. Earlier this month, a crash off Alaska’s coast resulted in the deaths of 10 people. Another incident on January 29 involved a military Black Hawk helicopter colliding with an American Airlines-affiliated flight near Washington, D.C., leading to 67 fatalities. On January 31, a medical transport Learjet 55 crashed in Philadelphia, causing the deaths of a pediatric patient, her mother, four crew members, and injuring several individuals on the ground.
Further afield, Asia has also seen recent air disasters. In South Korea, a Jeju Air flight crash resulted in 179 deaths after striking an airport concrete barrier. Additionally, an Azerbaijan Airlines crash in Kazakhstan on Christmas killed 38 people and injured 29 others.