Delta jetliner rolls off taxiway during test
The Delta 737 rolled off a taxiway early Tuesday morning.
March 13th, 2012
07:00 AM ET

Delta jetliner rolls off taxiway during test

A Delta Airlines jetliner veered off a taxiway during maintenance testing at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport early Tuesday, causing significant damage to the aircraft, an airline spokesman said. No one was injured, he said.

"Mechanics testing the engines of a Boeing 737-700 this morning experienced a problem with the plane’s braking system," Delta spokesman Eric Torbenson said.

The plane left a taxiway near 8 Right at the airport, he said, and rolled partially down an embankment.

There were no passengers aboard, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration said.

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Filed under: Aviation • Georgia
soundoff (175 Responses)
  1. Scottish Mama

    Whooooooooooaaaaaaa. Oppsie. I guess the breaks are not quite fixed yet. Do over?

    March 13, 2012 at 7:20 am | Report abuse |
  2. LOW LYF

    COOL MORE WORK FOR MY UNION BUDDIES

    March 13, 2012 at 7:22 am | Report abuse |
    • Intimnasc

      So when did Deltas mechanics join a union?

      March 13, 2012 at 7:57 am | Report abuse |
  3. regnarg

    Wanna get away?????

    March 13, 2012 at 7:24 am | Report abuse |
    • Scottish Mama

      No thank you,I'll just walk.lol

      March 13, 2012 at 7:27 am | Report abuse |
  4. Newsraider

    Where's the video? Nobody shot video? Just stand it on it's tail and take off vertically.

    March 13, 2012 at 7:27 am | Report abuse |
    • Scottish Mama

      If it was a roadrunner cartoon.lol

      March 13, 2012 at 7:32 am | Report abuse |
  5. GaryO

    Engine test: Passed. Brake test: MAJOR FAIL!

    March 13, 2012 at 7:32 am | Report abuse |
  6. kinggeorge13

    Engine running?...........check. Brakes?..........oops.

    March 13, 2012 at 7:37 am | Report abuse |
  7. John

    Wait until you hear the actual reason for the incident. The pilots had been made to run the tests for an extended period without relief and the pilot made several repeated requests to stop and use the restroom. The restrooms on the plane had not been prepped for functional use during the tests. When he was again told to remain with the schedule, he veered the plane off the runway and communicated to the tower and test crew that if they weren't going to temporarily suspend the tests to allow them a restroom break, then he will simply pull over to take care of the problem.

    Boeing chose to release the statement of equipment failure in order to best explain the matter, but the 2-person crew on board the airliner have been suspended pending both an internal investigation by Boeing, as well as an investigation by the FAA.

    March 13, 2012 at 7:38 am | Report abuse |
    • Scott

      I'll bet he's fired if this is the case...

      March 13, 2012 at 8:39 am | Report abuse |
    • Paul

      Boeing would be the last one to blame it on mechanical failure to protect a pilot, they make the airplane. Also boeing would not do an “internal” investigation because this happened at Delta with Delta employees, and last there was no pilots on board the plane, mechanics running the test. Please don’t fabricate stories.

      March 13, 2012 at 9:05 am | Report abuse |
  8. Ben

    Where's captain Sully when you need him?

    March 13, 2012 at 7:40 am | Report abuse |
  9. mark

    may be they should have been working on the brakes . and who is going to fix the lawn

    March 13, 2012 at 7:42 am | Report abuse |
  10. Anders Perillo

    "problem with the plane's braking system".....riiiiighht. say hello to the unemployment line, geniuses.

    March 13, 2012 at 7:42 am | Report abuse |
  11. Joey Isotta-Fraschini©™

    Accidents have always happened, but I expect more to occur in an era of No Child Left Behind, block lettering, and
    computer skills that are not always coupled with an ability to think.
    The waning of education in this country is a better reason to fear flying than is terrorism.
    If some workers can't get my baggage to the right airport, how can I be sure that other workers can maintain the aircraft's brakes?

    March 13, 2012 at 7:49 am | Report abuse |
    • Scott

      We use block lettering on engineering drawings because it is FAR easier to read, and you don't want someone mis-interpreting the drafts for aircraft parts...

      March 13, 2012 at 8:40 am | Report abuse |
  12. Brad

    Whoa, no passengers aboard during maintenance testing? Thank you for that last paragraph...

    March 13, 2012 at 7:49 am | Report abuse |
  13. Brownstain

    Gone muddin'

    March 13, 2012 at 7:51 am | Report abuse |
  14. JJ

    DELTA: D on't E xpect L uggage T o A rrive......

    March 13, 2012 at 7:51 am | Report abuse |
  15. Andrew

    NO! That's the clutch!

    March 13, 2012 at 7:59 am | Report abuse |
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