Irma: Delta flight beats hurricane to Puerto Rico and lands safely while three other planes forced to turn around
Flight data shows the plane avoiding the eye of the storm
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A Delta jet beat the odds yesterday afternoon by dodging the eye of Hurricane Irma to safely land and take off again in Puerto Rico.
As the category five storm bore down on the Caribbean island, flight 431 from New York JFK managed to successfully land at Luis Muñoz Marín airport in San Juan.
The feat was even more impressive as three planes, two from JetBlue and one from American Airlines, had attempted to land, but were forced to turn around.
After a quick turnaround of 52 minutes, which included refuelling and taxi time, the plane took off again to make its way back to New York.
Social media users and aviation fans avidly tracked the brave pilot’s journey as they avoided the danger.
Aviation journalist Jason Rabinowitz live-tweeted the action, with images of flight maps. They showed the plane's path between the outer band of Irma and the core of the storm.
Rabinowitz praised the airline's staff, including forecasters, ground and air crew and the air traffic control team for the successful flight.
The 737-900 cleared the storm and landed back at JFK at 4.33pm, 39 minutes ahead of schedule.
Erik Snell, vice president for Delta operations and customer centre, said the airline's meteorology team was the best in the business.
Speaking to the Washington Post, Snell said: “They took a hard look at the weather data and the track of the storm and worked with the flight crew and dispatcher to agree it was safe to operate the flight. And our flight and ground crews were incredible in their effort to turn the aircraft quickly and safely so the flight could depart well before the hurricane threat.”
In Puerto Rico, visitors were trying hard to get away, while many residents attempted to get home before the storm hit. The Delta flight was the last to land and take off from the airport before it stopped operations yesterday.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments