A Europe-bound Delta Air Lines flight was forced to make an emergency return to Boston Logan International Airport on Thursday evening after smoke was reported on board shortly after takeoff.
BOSTON — Delta flight DL276, an Airbus A330-300 carrying passengers to Nice, France, departed Logan Airport normally at 8:00 PM on June 25, lifting off from runway 4R. However, the routine transatlantic flight quickly turned into an emergency.
According to flight tracking data and air traffic control records, the widebody aircraft (registration N820NW) began its initial climb out over the Atlantic Ocean but abruptly halted its ascent at just 10,000 feet. Minutes into the flight, the flight crew alerted air traffic control to smoke on board and requested an immediate return to the airport.
Air traffic controllers quickly vectored the aircraft back toward Boston. The plane landed safely on runway 15R less than 30 minutes after it first took off. Emergency vehicles met the aircraft on the tarmac, though the plane was able to taxi back to gate E15—the exact gate it had departed from just a half-hour prior.
Delta Air Lines quickly scrambled to minimize delays for the affected passengers, arranging a replacement aircraft later that night. The rescheduled flight departed Boston in the early hours of Friday morning, arriving safely at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport on Friday afternoon.
Ultimately, passengers reached the French Riviera roughly five hours behind schedule. Delta has not yet released an official statement regarding the exact source or cause of the smoke, and the aircraft remains on the ground in Boston for maintenance inspection.
