A Delta Air Lines Boeing 717 has been forced to divert from its original flight path and land in Chicago following reports of smoke odors inside the cabin.
Diverting to Chicago
Flightradar24's records showed that a Delta Air Lines 717, registered as N993AT, was operating flight DL2761 from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) to Kansas City International Airport (MCI) on February 12.
However, as the single-aisle jet, a derivative of the McDonnell Douglas MD-80, was flying southward, the aircraft began diverting toward Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD). Having departed Detroit at 15:37 local time (UTC -5), the 717 landed at Chicago-O’Hare at 15:53 local time (UTC -6).
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, a Delta Air Lines spokesperson confirmed that the aircraft landed in the Windy City due to a smoke odor inside the 717. Simple Flying has approached Delta Air Lines for comment.
In air traffic control recordings provided by LiveATC, the flight crew of the 717 confirmed that they would land on runway 10C/28C and subsequently stop on the runway, with the south tower controller informing the pilots that equipment was on standby.
According to Flightradar24 data, the 717 landed on the runway and proceeded to stop on the taxiway adjacent to runway 10C/28C for a brief moment, which was confirmed by ATC recordings that the 717 stopped on taxiway Papa between exit points Papa 5 and Papa 6. Subsequently, the aircraft moved to the gate area at Chicago-O’Hare.
Moved to Minneapolis-Saint Paul
Thereafter, the flight tracking service’s flight history showed that Delta Air Lines moved the 717 to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) several hours later, following the diversion to Chicago.
The aircraft departed Chicago on flight DL1533 at 23:05 and landed at the primary airport serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area at 00:01 local time (UTC -6). At the time of publishing, the 717 had its first departure, from Minneapolis-Saint Paul to Memphis International Airport (MEM), scheduled at 09:13 on February 13.
Flightradar24 showed that from Memphis, it should return to Minneapolis-Saint Paul before ending its day in Kansas City, potentially indicating that the aircraft either had a minor issue or that Delta Air Lines TechOps maintenance technicians managed to fix the problem overnight.
The airline’s maintenance arm has three main hubs that provide line maintenance services: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport , Detroit-Metropolitan, and Minneapolis-Saint Paul.
One of the largest single-aisle fleets
According to Delta Air Lines’ 2024 annual filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the airline has 80 717s in its fleet, split between 48 owned and 32 leased aircraft.
As such, the 717 is one of the largest single-aisle types in the carrier’s fleet, with Delta Air Lines only having more Airbus A321ceo, Boeing 737-900ER, and 757-200 aircraft with 127, 163, and 88 jets of the type in its fleet. In addition, Delta Air Lines also has 69 A321neo and 77 737-800 aircraft, with the former type being wholly owned by the carrier.
The 717 that was involved in the diversion was a former AirTran Airways aircraft. Boeing delivered the aircraft to the airline in June 2002, with the 717 being transferred to Southwest Airlines following the acquisition of AirTran Airways in 2012, according to ch-aviation's records. Delta Air Lines induced the 717 into its fleet on February 27, 2015.