Four people were injured due to unknown fumes on board an Airbus A321neo plane en route to Seattle, Washington from Maui, Hawaii, KHON2 reports. Delta Flight 394 was diverted to the Hawaiian city of Honolulu, where the victims were hospitalized.
The incident occurred on September 19. There were 189 passengers, two pilots and four flight attendants on the aircraft. Shortly after takeoff, the crew discovered fumes in the cabin and decided to leave for an alternate airfield in Honolulu. Passengers reported headaches and nausea.
After landing, passengers left the board along the ramps, then they were taken away by buses. Employees of the city emergency service arrived at the airport.
Paramedics treated and transported three women, ages 27, 31 and 42, to a local hospital in stable condition, as well as another unidentified patient. The airline also said one of the flight attendants sought medical attention.
The airline said in a statement that after landing, employees noticed fuel leaking from the plane. Whether it is related to the appearance of fumes in the cabin is still unknown. The board will be examined by technical specialists. Delta is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the incident.
“The aircraft crew completed a diversion procedure to an alternate airfield in Honolulu when fumes were detected after departure from the island of Maui. We reach out to our customers to apologize for the inconvenience caused, including refunding their flight tickets,” Delta emphasized.
The airline returned the funds, and the passengers flew to Seattle on a replacement plane on Sunday, September 20, arriving at their destination at 5:47 pm Pacific time, Aero Corner clarifies. The publication emphasizes that on the Airbus A321neo, as on most airliners, part of the air in the cabin is bleed air, that is, compressed air taken from the engines.
“The mixture is approximately half fresh bleed air and half filtered recirculated air, the ratio of which varies depending on altitude and engine power. It is because of this design that mechanical failures can affect passengers,” notes Aero Corner.
Typical reasons for fumes entering the cabin are faulty engine seals and worn recirculation fan bearings, but such cases are rare, the publication emphasizes. At the same time, the A321neo model does not have the ability to drain fuel, which complicates maneuverability.
The distance from Kahului Airport in Maui to Seattle is about 2,640 miles (4,250 km), almost all of the way lies over the open Pacific Ocean, and there are no airports along the way, the publication notes. A crew faced with a cabin air problem minutes after takeoff has only one reasonable option: land in Hawaii before flying over water for more than five hours, Aero Corner adds.
