Delta Engine Flaws Force 3 Emergency Landings

Delta Airlines made not one but three emergency landings over the weekend, causing racing hearts but no injuries in the hair-raising touchdowns in New York, Atlanta, and Ireland. An unspecified engine or air duct problem forced a Los Angles-bound flight to return to Atlanta just over an hour after takeoff, where its tail scraped the ground as it dropped onto the runway. Earlier, a Moscow-bound Boeing 767 returned to JFK after losing thrust in one of its engines. A Boeing 757 also made an emergency landing at Ireland's Shannon airport on Saturday after problems developed in two of its engines en route from Philadelphia.

"It's too early to speculate about the exact causes of each of these incidents," said a Delta spokesman. Company managers and federal officials are investigating. The incidents are likely to trigger even greater scrutiny of Delta, which has experienced a higher than average series of in-flight and maintenance problems this year, reports the Wall Street Journal.
(More emergency landing stories.)