Delta Flight 876 had a terrifying incident shortly after takeoff on Monday morning, as haze was observed in the aircraft, prompting the crew to declare an emergency and return to Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. According to reports from The Hill, the flight was headed to Columbia, South Carolina, carrying 94 passengers alongside the crew when the incident occurred.

Approximately 30 minutes into the flight, crew members spotted the haze and reported possible smoke in the flight deck. The Boeing 717 landed safely back at the airport around 9 a.m. EST. As part of emergency protocol, all passengers were evacuated using emergency slides, as verified by reports from Newsweek.

Delta Airlines expressed their commitment to passenger safety, stating, “Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people,” and apologized for the unsettling experience. Footage captured during the evacuation showed passengers covering their faces as they exited the aircraft, a situation described in India Times reports.

The incident is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is probing whether maintenance factors contributed to this distressing emergency. This event follows another serious incident involving a Delta flight that recently had to turn back due to smoke detected in the galley, highlighting increasing concerns regarding safety in the airline industry, as noted in an earlier piece by USA Today.

Fortunately, there were no reports of injuries among the passengers, and normal airport operations resumed shortly after the incident.