Emergency slide that fell from Delta flight discovered in bizarre twist
Gerrard Kaonga
Featured Image Credit: Jake Bissell-Linsk / Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Delta has confirmed that an emergency slide that fell off a plane just minutes after it took to the skies has been found, but there's been a bizarre twist.
Last week, an emergency slide 'separated' from a Delta airplane while it was in the air.
The freak accident set off an emergency alarm and the Delta crew reportedly heard a vibration as it was happening.
In a statement following the emergency landing, Delta said: "As nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people, Delta flight crews enacted their extensive training and followed procedures to return to JFK.
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"We appreciate their professionalism and our customers' patience for the delay in their travels.
"After the aircraft had safely landed and proceeded to a gate, it was observed that the emergency slide had separated from the aircraft. Delta is fully supporting retrieval efforts and will fully cooperate in investigations."
The strange accident happened on Delta Flight 520 on April 27, which had departed the Queens airport an hour earlier, ultimately forcing the Los Angeles-bound flight to return to JFK Airport.
But where the slide ended up landing is both odd and hilarious.
Authorities then began a search for the missing chute that afternoon and it has now been found in quite a bizarre location.
It ended up outside the beachside house of a lawyer... who just so happens to be suing Boeing over safety issues.
Jake Bissell-Linsk is a New York attorney who works at the firm that filed a lawsuit against Boeing following the Alaska Airlines window blowout.
Speaking to the New York Post about the coincidence, he said: “We are right on the beach and I saw it was sitting on the breakers.
“I didn’t want to touch it but I got close enough to get a close look at it.
“Our case is all about safety issues at Boeing, and this slide is literally right in front of my house.”
He went on to detail how he and his neighbor tried to resolve the issue and how Delta employees quickly came to the scene.
He added: “My neighbor called the FAA hotline and they are closed on Sundays. So he just called Delta. I see this Delta truck pull up and watch them pull it out of the water. It took them about 10 minutes.
“I think the slide should be handed over to whoever is investigating the incident. We haven’t decided if the slide is relevant to our case."
Speaking to the New York Post, a Delta spokesperson confirmed the slide had been retrieved.
“Delta confirms retrieval of the emergency exit slide. As indicated on Friday, we will fully cooperate with all relevant investigations.
“The FAA is investigating. Please contact the carrier for more information.”