Due to a Fuel Issue, a Delta Air Lines Flight Had to Make a U-Turn and Return to New York

The pilots of a Delta Air Lines flight discovered a fuel problem and were forced to make a U-turn over the Atlantic Ocean.

The news was first reported by Newsweek.

According to Newsweek, the Delta flight departed John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Sunday with plans to continue to Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana.

According to the report, the aircraft instead made a U-turn over the Atlantic and flew back to New York.

The incident was confirmed to Insider by a Delta spokesperson. The plane returned to JFK “out of an abundance of caution due to a fuel imbalance in-flight.” an airline representative told Newsweek.

According to Boeing, a fuel imbalance occurs when the left and right fuel tanks in an aircraft wing have different amounts of fuel.

The Delta representative told Newsweek that “An emergency was declared on arrival at JFK to obtain priority handling from air traffic control,” the person stated. The flight landed in New York safely, and the passengers disembarked the aircraft.

A map showing the rough location where a Delta flight from JFK to Accra, Ghana, was forced to turn around // Google Maps

Arieh Smith, a YouTuber who was on the flight, uploaded a video to his channel in which he claimed the plane turned around two hours into the trip.

In the video, Smith says, “I see the captain come down the aisle and start looking out the window at the wing of the plane.” Smith added that the captain then told passengers the plane had a fuel issue that meant it had to return to New York.

The “the scariest day of my life.” told Smith, who has more than 5 million YouTube subscribers.

Smith made a video of himself peering into the cockpit of the aircraft after it touched down in New York and speaking with the pilots, who told him in the clip: “We were not able to automatically or manually balance the fuel, so we could not continue the flight.”

Insider sent Smith a request for comment, but Smith didn’t respond right away.

Aircraft fuel issues are not unheard of. A Qantas Airways plane nearly ran out of fuel last week as it approached Perth, Australia, prompting the crew to declare an emergency for a priority landing.

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