Boeing 737: Delta Airlines flight forced to turn back and emergency land after engine 'blew up' shortly after take off

A Boeing Delta Airlines flight out of Aruba and bound for Atlanta was forced to turn back and make an emergency landing. According to a passenger, who described the ordeal on Reddit, the Boeing 737 900 aircraft had to emergency land after “one of the engines blew up mid takeoff”.

The passenger added that the aircraft “circled Aruba four times and emergency landed” on Wednesday (20 March). A spokesperson for the airline told DailyMail.com that there were 168 passengers on board in addition to four flight attendants and two pilots. The passengers were forced to spend an extra night in Aruba before being flown out on Wednesday. 

The airline spokesperson said: “Delta flight DL581 from Aruba to Atlanta experienced a mechanical issue shortly after take off. It landed safely and returned to the gate uneventfully. Delta teams are working to get our customers to their final destinations as quickly and safely as possible and we apologize for the delay in their travels.”

This incident is the latest in a series of safety worries that have occurred on Boeing planes recently. A windscreen on a Boeing 737 Alaska Airlines flight cracked during landing on Sunday night (17 March) in another huge safety worry for the firm and airline. On Friday 15 March a United Airlines Boeing plane was grounded after it was found to be missing a panel when the aircraft touched down in Medford Airport in Oregon. No injuries were reported on the flight from San Francisco.

There has been intense scrutiny and a spotlight on Boeing aircraft after the Alaska Airlines flight incident on 5 January which saw a door panel blow out of the aircraft shortly after it took off. A six-week audit into Boeing and its subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems has recently found “dozens” of quality control problems including dish soap and hotel key cards being used on parts of planes. The audit run by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) found that mechanics working for Spirit were observed using Dawn dish soap on a door seal in place of lubricant. The seal was then reportedly cleaned up with a “wet cheesecloth.”

NationalWorld has contacted Delta Airlines for comment.