Delta Air Lines flight DL63 from London Gatwick (LGW) to New York (JFK) experienced a delay due to the accidental deployment of an evacuation slide. The aircraft involved was a 26-year-old Boeing 767-300ER registered as N198DN operated by Delta Air Lines.

Social media featured images of the mistakenly deployed evacuation slide showing the slide on top of a catering truck at the airport. There were no injuries reported and no passengers were on board at the time of the incident.

Currently, the cause of the incident is unclear, but Delta along with the appropriate authorities will likely conduct an investigation.

According to Simple Flying, no injuries were reported and the incident did not affect operations beyond a delay. The slide replacement caused a delay of two hours and forty-seven minutes on the outbound flight from London Gatwick to New York on DL62.

Incidents such as these can incur significant costs for airlines. They may lead to delays or cancellations of flights and pose safety risks to individuals near the aircraft. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that emergency deployments cost the aviation industry around $20 million each year.

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Source:

• Simple Flying