A Delta Air Lines flight bound for Lagos turned around over the Atlantic and returned to Atlanta after the crew decided to abort the trip about three and a half hours after departure on Saturday evening.
The Airbus A330-200 climbed to 33,000 feet after leaving Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, then headed east before the crew reversed course as the plane approached the midpoint of the transatlantic crossing. Delta said the flight came back because of an operational issue.
The aircraft landed safely back in Atlanta at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, and the flight was canceled after it returned. The 21-year-old Airbus stayed on the ground for inspection.
Atlanta is Delta's primary maintenance base, which makes the return there practical for a problem that the airline has not described in detail. The company has not specified what the operational issue was, leaving that part of the flight's abrupt end unanswered.
For passengers, the trip did not make it past the ocean. For Delta, the next step is inspection of the jet before it can return to service, and that decision will determine how quickly the airline can move the plane back into rotation.
