Tuesday night a Delta flight from Lagos, Nigeria (LOS) to Atlanta (ATL) experienced serious engine issues, requiring the crew to make an immediate emergency landing back at Lagos. The airport’s fire authorities scrambled to meet the plane once on the ground.

The issue was determined to be serious enough that the crew initiated an emergency evacuation with the aircraft landed. While all passengers and crew were able to safely evacuate the aircraft, in a statement to TPG, Delta said it is “aware of five customers reporting non-critical injuries as a result of the evacuation.”

The aircraft involved in the incident is a 12-year old Airbus A330-200 with the registration number N858NW. Delta flight 55 was scheduled to depart at 10:25pm local time Tuesday night (4:25pm Eastern Time). According to FlightRadar24 data, the flight pushed back at 10:42pm and took off at 10:52pm. The aircraft landed back at Lagos at 11:00pm, just eight minutes after takeoff.



It’s very unusual for an aircraft departing on a long-haul flight to land so shortly after takeoff, and typically indicates a potentially life-threatening situation. Usually in these situations the aircraft weight is well above the maximum weight allowed for a safe landing, requiring the crew to dump fuel and/or circle.

There’s no indication at this time whether Delta flight 55 was able to dump fuel or was overweight at the time of the emergency landing.

This incident comes just a few days after a Saratov Airlines flight crashed outside Moscow shortly after takeoff.

Here are next steps from the company:

Delta teams are focused now on providing overnight hotel accommodations to customers and will rebook customers on an alternate Delta aircraft Wednesday. The safety of Delta’s customers and crew members is always our top priority.

Featured image by Kentaro Iemoto/Flickr

Must of sucked the door from the Nigerian airlines plane into the engine....

Sorry, I couldn't resist....

Unexpected overnight in Lagos....The basis for a high quality nightmare....

Wes: You did not state a source for the information in your post but it contains numerous inaccuracies. By the letters NW in the registration number the aircraft is identified as an A-330 first delivered to Northwest Airlines. None of the NWA 330's were equipped with a dump system. A landing at Maximum Gross take off weight only requires completing a brief checklist before landing and a visual inspection prior to being returned to service. In and of itself it is not an indication of the severity of the emergency which caused the necessity of returning to Lagos.
On the other hand, as stubleduck47 pointed out, the flight crew's decision to spend another night in Lagos is a much stronger indication of the possibility of an impending destruction of the aircraft.

quote:

Originally posted by bobmn:
Wes: You did not state a source for the information in your post but it contains numerous inaccuracies. By the letters NW in the registration number the aircraft is identified as an A-330 first delivered to Northwest Airlines. None of the NWA 330's were equipped with a dump system. A landing at Maximum Gross take off weight only requires completing a brief checklist before landing and a visual inspection prior to being returned to service. In and of itself it is not an indication of the severity of the emergency which caused the necessity of returning to Lagos.
On the other hand, as stubleduck47 pointed out, the flight crew's decision to spend another night in Lagos is a much stronger indication of the possibility of an impending destruction of the aircraft.

The points guy, See above.

From Delta Airlines: Feb 14

Delta Flight 55 from Lagos, Nigeria, to Atlanta returned to Lagos International Airport on Tuesday after an issue with one of the A330-200's two engines. The flight landed safely and all 231 customers and 13 Delta crew exited the aircraft on the runway via emergency slides. Airport fire authorities met the aircraft upon arrival. Delta’s customers were bused back to the terminal and provided with overnight accommodation.



The flight crew of Flight 55 utilized their training and expertise to safely and expeditiously evacuate Delta's customers shortly after landing. Once customers had deplaned and were in the terminal, the flight crew, together with the LOS Airport Customer Service team, worked diligently to accommodate customers, demonstrating professionalism throughout the event.

A dedicated care team has arrived in Lagos to provide assistance to customers after a small number were taken to hospital with non-critical injuries.

Delta operated an additional flight from Lagos to Atlanta today (Wednesday), which departed shortly after 7 p.m. local time. The airline has operated nonstop service to Nigeria for more than 10 years and Lagos remains an important part of its network. Delta continues to cooperate with the Nigerian Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria and other relevant Nigerian authorities and thanks them for their support. The safety of customers and crew members remains Delta’s top priority.


Delta Flight 55 from Lagos, Nigeria, to Atlanta returned to Lagos International Airport Tuesday after an issue with one of the A330-200's two engines. The flight landed safely and customers exited the aircraft on the runway via emergency slides. Airport fire authorities met the aircraft upon arrival. Delta’s customers were bused back to the terminal.

Delta is aware of five customers reporting non-critical injuries as a result of the evacuation.

Feb 13
Delta teams are focused now on providing overnight hotel accommodations to customers and will rebook customers on an alternate Delta aircraft Wednesday afternoon. The safety of Delta’s customers and crew members is always our top priority.

The Aviation Herald:

Accident: Delta A332 at Lagos on Feb 13th 2018, engine fire


By Simon Hradecky, created Wednesday, Feb 14th 2018 18:54Z, last updated Wednesday, Feb 14th 2018 19:29Z
A Delta Airlines Airbus A330-200, registration N858NW performing flight DL-55 from Lagos (Nigeria) to Atlanta,GA (USA), was in the initial climb out of Lagos' runway 18R when the crew received a fire indication for the left hand engine (PW4168), stopped the climb at 2000 feet, shut the engine down, activated the fire suppression and returned to Lagos for a safe landing on runway 18R about 8 minutes after departure. The aircraft was evacuated, 5 people received minor injuries as result of the evacuation.

The airline reported the aircraft experienced an issue with one of the two engines. 5 passengers received minor injuries in the evacuation. The passengers were taken to hotels and were rebooked onto the next day's flight.

Nigeria's CAA reported the aircraft made an air return after the left hand engine caught fire. An investigation has been opened.

The FAA reported the aircraft, a Boeing 777-200, returned to and landed at Lagos after an engine fire. The aircraft was evacuated, there was one unknown injury to a flight crew and one minor injury to a passenger.