Delta flight to LAX from JFK makes emergency landing moments before plane deploys slide, injuring crew member

Talk about an aerial moment!

A Delta flight from JFK to Los Angeles on Saturday made an unscheduled landing in Utah due to technical difficulties – only to have a slide accidentally deploy inside the plane once it was on the ground.

A crew member was unexpectedly hit by the ‘explosive’ slide while being transported to hospital.

The B767-300 was en route to LAX from JFK with 168 passengers on board when the plane’s pilot announced that the plane would have to land in Salt Lake City due to technical difficulties.

A standby system’s temperature instrument had failed, which was necessary for the icing conditions, the captain said.

The flight, which left New York after 7 a.m., landed without incident and passengers were asked to disembark.

After a while, the temperature instrument was fixed and the plane was – apparently – ready to depart around 1 p.m. Utah time.

That’s when things took a shocking slide – literally.

After passengers reboarded the plane and were ready to depart, an inflatable slide at the rear of the plane was accidentally deployed inside the plane while it was still at the gate boarding – hitting a Delta crew member, who was taken to hospital, sources told The Post.

One passenger described the slide as ‘exploding’ inside the plane, while another said the crew cocked a rear door and the slide forced a panel out of the door when he accidentally deployed, hitting the crew member “like an airbag”. of a car.

Sources said the slide hit the unnamed crew member in the head and the slide was accidentally deployed by a plane’s catering crew.

Passengers were seen exiting the plane shaken and irritated.

They were eventually booked onto a secondary plane that was scheduled to leave Utah for Los Angeles at 4 p.m. Mountain time.

No word on the condition of the crew member.

A Delta spokesperson said in a statement when reached for comment: “Delta Flight 520, operating from New York-JFK to Los Angeles, has been diverted to Salt Lake City due to a maintenance.”

The rep added: ‘While on the ground, the same aircraft slide was deployed by accident. In order to get our customers to their final destination as quickly and safely as possible, they have been relocated to a new aircraft. We apologize for the delay in their travel plans. Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and employees. »

The passengers were awarded 7,500 miles by the airline for the inconvenience.