1. Delta Airline 777-200
  2. Delta Flight 7776
  3. Delta Airlines Reservations
  4. Delta Air Lines Specials
  5. Delta Flight 777

The newsmedia’s presentation of Delta’s fuel dump during an emergency return for landing after takeoff from LAX has caused some airline pilots to ask questions.A lot of coverage was presented with few answersto what really matters.

On January 14, Delta Air Lines flight 9 returned for landing after experiencing an engine compressor stall after taking off from LAX airport. The flight was a scheduled flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai, China. During the return for landing at LAX, the 777 apparently dumped fuel over the populated Los Angeles. This was necessary to get the plane down to a safe landing weight after being fully loaded with fuel for the long flight.

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Delta Airline 777-200

When the plane was overflying the City of Cudahy several children and adults were doused in aircraft fuel at an elementary school playground. According to the fire department, “multiple patients had to be assessed” as a result of the fuel exposure.

Delta Flight 7776

The Delta 777 fuel dump returning to LAX

Standard procedures and protocol for Engine Failure

Delta airline 777-200

Delta Air Lines has made their final Boeing 777 flight, marking the end of an era for the airline and the aircraft. Flight DL8777 flew from New York to Los Angeles in 5:30 hours. In this article, we will take a look at the final flight, as well as the history of Delta’s B777 operations. Final Flight #DL8777.

An airplane “losing an engine”, or experiencing an engine failure, such as a compressor stall normally would not warrant an immediate landing.

An airliner can safely keep flying with only one of two engines operating.

  1. Delta took its first 777 in 1999 and entered service on March 1 of that year. Delta has taken deliveries of 777s well into the 2010s, and the last flight from New York to Los Angeles will be flown by one of Delta’s youngest 777-200LR planes. 777s have flown 1.26 million flight hours on over 133,000 flights for Delta.
  2. In April 2019, Delta will commence service from Seoul-Incheon to Minneapolis/St. Paul, using the airline’s newly refurbished 777 fleet. Available for sale now, this new flight — in cooperation with Delta’s joint venture partner Korean Air — offers among the best connections between the Midwest and Asia and complements the.

The procedure would then be to circle over the water west of LAX where there is no terrain or people below. Once in position in the holding area, everything would be worked out, such as stabilizing the emergency situation, dump the fuel, and get ready for and prepare for the approach. The return to the airport and the approach would begin after the fuel dump has been completed.

Procedure for an immediate return for landing in a critical situation

Delta Airlines Reservations

Flight

An immediate landing with fuel dump continuing until before touchdown would only be performed if getting down on the ground is so critical that the airplane can crash if such a procedure is not implemented immediately. Examples of such situations would be if you had a cargo or cabin smoke or fire situation on board.

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Radio communication between ATC and Delta 777.

Delta’s compressor stall and air return to LAX with fuel dump

The Flight Path of Delta 9

Pilot Questions

When the incident happened several of my airline and military pilot friends raised some questions.

Delta Air Lines Specials

Of course, these are all hypothetical questions, yet common sense questions in the minds of highly trained airline pilots:

  • The Delta pilot stated that the problem was a compressor stall and that “the situation was under control”. Why were the pilots in such a rush to get back to LAX? Why did they have to dump fuel over Los Angeles? Furthermore, the pilot never stated to ATC that fuel dumping was taking place.Why?
  • Why were the pilots in such a rush to land if a compressor stall was the only problem? The pilots know their plane is perfectly capable of safely flying with one engine out.
  • If there was more to the emergency than reported by the media, then what was it? A compressor stall with a severed fuel line, or a fuel leak, adding additional fuel escaping from the airplane?The procedure for a compressor stall initially calls for retarding the throttles but not to shut down the engine. If there was also a fuel leak, then, of course, the fuel pumps still running would be moving a lot of fuel out of the tanks.
  • Why did the pilots start the fuel dump without communicating their intentions to ATC?
  • Why did the pilot tell ATC everything was under control, indicating that urgency or an immediate landing really wasn’t necessary?

Delta Flight 777

Featured Image: The Boeing 777 during fuel dump upon its return to LAX Airport. Photo: Pedro Jimenez, for captainjetson.com.