Delta Air Lines experienced an unfortunate incident over the weekend before taking off from Pittsburgh, leading to significant losses for the airline. The mishap occurred when a flight attendant mistakenly deployed the emergency slide, resulting in some passengers being stranded at the airport overnight.
The incident took place last Saturday as Delta Air Lines flight 3248 was preparing to depart from Pittsburgh International Airport in Pennsylvania to Salt Lake City, Utah. A spokesperson for Delta Air Lines confirmed that when the aircraft door was opened, a crew member inadvertently activated the emergency slide at the boarding gate in Pittsburgh.
As a result, customers on the return flight from Pittsburgh to Salt Lake City were rebooked on other Delta flights later that evening or the following morning. Delta Air Lines provided hotel accommodations for passengers who had to wait until Sunday for their rescheduled flights.
Flight tracking platform Flightradar24 data indicated that the flight, originally scheduled to depart at 5:30 PM, experienced a delay of nearly four hours, taking off at 9:21 PM and landing in Salt Lake City at 11:12 PM, more than three hours behind the original arrival time.
According to the New York Post, after the slide incident, passengers were temporarily stuck inside the aircraft until maintenance personnel manually removed the slide, a process that took about an hour.
A user on the social media platform Reddit shared a photo allegedly taken from inside the aircraft, showing the deployed slide, mentioning that the erring flight attendant “apologized and was very flustered.” The Reddit user revealed that the flight attendant stated this was the first time such a situation had occurred in their 26-year career.
The massive inflatable slide is designed to deploy fully within seconds to ensure passengers can quickly and easily reach a safe area. However, an accidental slide deployment not only inconveniences passengers but can also result in substantial financial losses for airlines.
According to the aviation website simpleflying.com, re-stowing the slide alone could cost around $12,000, and if passengers need to stay at a hotel overnight, expenses could escalate to “as much as $200,000.”