A Delta Air Lines Boeing 767 was forced to make an emergency landing yesterday (July 26) after sustaining serious damage while flying through a hailstorm.
The jet, N189DN (c/n 25990), departed Milan/Malpensa bound for New York/JFK but encountered turbulence and hail while climbing out after departure.
According to flight tracking data, the 767-300ER stopped its climb at 23,000ft and made a turn to the south towards Genoa. A descent to 20,000ft followed shortly thereafter before the crew declared a mayday and squawked 7700.
The aircraft made a safe landing at Rome/Fiumicino approximately one hour after departing Milan.
Photos circulating on social media show extensive airframe damage including a punctured nosecone and wing panels, dents on the leading edge and a smashed landing light. The jet’s two Pratt & Whitney PW4000 turbofans appear to also have sustained damage.
In a statement to Key.Aero, a Delta spokesperson said: “Delta flight DL185 from Milan to New York/JFK diverted to Rome shortly after take-off after encountering bad weather. The safety of our passengers and crew is our number one priority.”
When asked about the hail damage seen in the images, the spokesperson acknowledged that the widebody “sustained some damage… which is being reviewed by our local maintenance team”.
“We are sorry for the delay to our customers’ journey,” they added.
N189DN was delivered to the airline in February 1997 and is configured to seat 216 passengers in a three-class layout. Winglets were retrofitted in January 2014.
Delta currently operates a 66-strong fleet of 767s including 45 -300s and 21 -400s.
