CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A Delta plane made an emergency landing Wednesday at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport after the aircraft’s nose gear did not go down, according to authorities with Delta Airlines. No injuries have been reported.
Delta Air Lines Flight 1092 took off from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) at 7:25 a.m. As it approached Charlotte, pilots received a “nose gear unsafe” indication, authorities said. The crew began a missed approach procedure to further investigate.
“After a series of maneuvers and ongoing communication with CLT air traffic controllers to further troubleshoot the indication, pilots landed the plane at CLT, with the nose gear up. After the plane came to a stop on the runway, the flight attendants led customers through a safe evacuation via emergency slides,” Delta authorities said in a released statement.
Pilots were able to land the plane at CLT at 8:58 a.m., officials said. The plane remained on the runway during the landing.
There were 96 customers and five crew members on board, Delta said.
Air traffic control audio details what happened inside the cockpit before the plane landed.
“Yes sir, we have a nose-wheel unsafe indication, we’re going to have to go ahead and declare an emergency…we have 104 souls on board…we have 50 minutes’ worth of fuel.”
Listen below:
“Our focus is now to take care of our customers on this flight, including retrieving their bags and seeing them to their final destinations safely,” Delta said in a released statement. “We apologize to our customers for what they experienced.”
Flight 1092 Cleared Off Runway
After several hours the aircraft was cleared off the runway Wednesday evening, authorities said. Runway 18R/36L has since reopened following the incident.
“The runway is now open. Please continue to check with your airline on updated flight status.,” the CLT Airport said.
Delta said they deployed a TechOps aircraft recovery team and a flight safety team to CLT.
The Delta aircraft, a Boeing 717-2BD, took off from Atlanta (ATL) to Charlotte (CLT) Wednesday and circled CLT Airport multiple times before landing, FlightRadar reports.
Passengers Braced For Emergency Landing
Video obtained by Queen City News from Harrison Smith shows what passengers on Delta Flight 1092 experienced as the plane made its emergency landing at Charlotte-Douglas airport.
Passengers could be seen clapping and cheering following Wednesday’s scare.
Delays And Cancellations At CLT Airport
Inside CLT Airport, it seemed to be ‘business as usual,’ however, delays and cancellations piled up following the Delta incident Wednesday morning.
Check the status of your flight here.
What Do We Know About This Plane?
Delta Flight 1092 was flying from Atlanta to Charlotte on Wednesday, June 28, 2023. This aircraft was delivered to AirTran in November 2000. Delta began leasing in March 2014.
Delta flies this plane regionally out of ATL. The next leg on Wednesday was going to be Delta Flight 2490 – CLT to Detriot Metro International Airport, a Delta hub.
History Of Boeing 717s
Delta has 64 Boeing 717-200s, the world’s largest operator. Most Delta 717s are more than 20 years old. Delta Airlines uses Boeing 717s from hub cities, like ATL, to mid-size cities, or to cities that are hubs for other airlines. Delta plans to retire Boeing 717 fleet by the mid-2020s, as they will no longer be profitable to fly.
As of June 2022, there have been five other incidents involving the Boeing 717.
According to aviation-safety.net, only one other Boeing 717 had to make a landing without their nose gear. It was August 9, 2001, when a TWA flight heading to St. Louis could not get its nose gear down. The flight diverted to Scott Air Force Base across the river from St. Louis in Illinois. The plane landed on its main landing gear and skidded the nose to a stop.
Delta Airlines has Boeing 717s because of the Southwest-AirTrans merger that began in 2011. Delta started leasing Boeing 717s from Southwest in 2013.
Delta said they’re fully cooperating with FAA and NTSB investigations.
