More than 200 passengers and crew used the emergency exits and slides to evacuate a Delta Boeing 757 that aborted a takeoff at Atlanta on Friday morning. An engine caught fire while the plane was on the roll on an uncharacteristically snowy runway and the pilots hit the brakes. The aircraft had reached about 90 knots. Four people were treated for minor injuries. There were 201 passengers and seven crew members.
“Delta’s flight crew followed established procedures to suspend the takeoff of flight 2668 from Atlanta (ATL) to Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) after an indication of an engine issue,” Delta said in a statement. Numerous videos, and photos and personal accounts of the incident flooded social media. The incident added to the already challenging conditions at the airport which has been coping with unusually cold and snowy weather. According to CNN, as of 11 a.m. Friday more than 40 percent of flights had been cancelled.
