A Delta Air Lines Boeing 767 en route from New York to Paris was forced to make an emergency descent following cabin pressurization issues. The aircraft managed to land safely in Paris despite its rapid descent from 34,000 ft to just 10,000ft in eleven minutes.
The drama unfolded as Delta flight DL266 headed from New York-JFK Airport (JFK) to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) on July 8, 2024. The flight was being operated by one of the carrier’s 21-strong fleet of Boeing 767-400ERs registered as N829MH. The flight had departed New York at 08:47 local time and was due to land in Paris at 21:35, also local time.
Having completed the oceanic crossing part of the journey, and as the flight crossed the English Channel at 20:55, the crew of DL266 reported a loss of cabin pressure and set the 7700 internationally recognized emergency code on the transponder. The crew then requested an emergency descent to an altitude below 10,000ft where oxygen masks would no longer be required by all those onboard the flight.
With clearance given by air traffic controllers, the flight left its assigned altitude of 34,000ft, descending at around 3,000ft per minute according to data obtained from Flightradar24. By 21:10, the plane leveled off at 5,000ft before commencing its approach and final descent into Charles De Gaulle, where it landed safely at 21:21.
Having been inspected overnight by Delta engineers, the aircraft was declared fit to fly and is currently airborne heading back to New York as DL267 at the time of writing.
There has been no official statement from Delta about the incident or giving any more details. Should AeroTime receive an update from the airline, this article will be updated accordingly.
This latest depressurization incident follows on quickly after 13 passengers were taken to a hospital after a Korean Air flight rapidly descended 27,000 feet mid-flight due to a fault in the aircraft’s pressurization sy stem.
Flight KE189 departed Seoul’s Incheon International Airport (ICN) on June 22, 2024, at about 16:45 local time, headed for Taichung International Airport (RMQ) in Taiwan.
50 minutes into the flight, the B737 MAX experienced a sudden uncontrolled decompression. According to FL360aero, the message “pressure syst em (pressure control function of the aircraft) abnormality” was displayed to the crew while flying over Jeju Island forcing an emergency descent and leading to the injuries reported.