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VIDEO: Delta 757 Evacuated on Runway in Atlanta During Snow Storm

Charlie Mortling

Jan 10, 2025 — 2 min read

Today, while Atlanta was getting covered in snow, a Delta aircraft (DL2668 from Atlanta to Minneapolis, operated by a Boeing 757-300) had to abort their takeoff and stop on the runway due to an engine failure. Early reports are that there was fire coming from one of the engines, and the aircraft evacuated their passengers on to the only active runway at the Atlanta airport.

With the other runways shutdown due to the intense snowfall, most aircraft had to divert or return to the gate as the runway was shutdown during this event. This comes as Delta looks to have been struggling most of the day with airplanes deicing and airport ops trying to clear the runways of snow.

As you listen to the ATC audio, you can tell there was a mix of communication as the tower was trying to coordinate and the ARFF vehicles and the airplane to confirm if there was a fire coming out of the engine. It seemed as soon as the captain heard there were visible flames from the engine that he ordered the evacuation of the aircraft.

Videos show all the exits opened and passengers fleeing from the aircraft on to the snowy runway, while all the fire trucks surrounded the right engine that was reported to be on first. At first glance, it didn't seem like there was a major fire from the engine, and it was mostly contained, however as the captain has full authority over the aircraft he announced the evacuation.

Final Thoughts

At the moment, there is never a clear right or wrong when you're going by reports from others on the situation of your aircraft. While the videos do not make it to be that extreme of the event, it's always better to be safe than sorry during events like this. There ave been situations where flames have burnt out of control on an aircraft, and there is never a known how bad it would be. It sounds like everyone made it out ok, with only some minor injuries reported.

Everyone will have quite the story to tell, having to evacuate on a runway in Atlanta during a snow storm.

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