Passengers on a Delta Air Lines flight out of Detroit bound for Shanghai got a little bit more than they bargained for on their journey.
Instead of a smooth, if not speedy, scheduled 16-hour flight, travelers were left with a 24-hour ordeal which included a 2,000-mile detour to Los Angeles after one of the plane’s pilots became ill.
According to the New York Post, Delta Air Lines Flight 389 left Detroit around 10:30 a.m. Saturday. About five hours into the flight, the aircraft was just south of Alaska when the pilot fell sick.
As a result, the decision was made to divert to Los Angeles, which was a three-hour flight from the plane’s location.
A long journey becomes longer
Los Angeles was chosen as an emergency landing spot because it is a major Delta hub, making it easier for a replacement pilot to be found.
The plane remained grounded for three hours at LAX before eventually taking off for Shanghai. Originally scheduled to land around 2 p.m. local time, the craft instead taxied in at 11 p.m.
“The flight landed without incident and taxied to the gate,” Delta Air Lines said in a statement. “We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travel.”
Not the first time this has happened
Thankfully, these occurrences are rare, but there have been other instances where a flight had to be diverted in order to take care of a sick pilot or passenger.
In fact, back in May, a Delta Air Lines flight from Detroit to Los Angeles was detoured to Minnesota because a dog aboard the plane was in distress.
“The safety of our customers and people comes before everything else at Delta. That’s why Delta flight 694 diverted to MSP to ensure a cabin pet that became ill received proper care,” Delta said at the time.
In total, the diversion caused about a two-and-a-half hour delay for passengers.
