ITALY – A Delta Air Lines transatlantic flight operating out of Milan for New York has declared an emergency and made an unscheduled diversion to Rome earlier today.
Delta Air Lines DL185 Milan – New York
Delta Air Lines scheduled flight DL185 being operated by a Boeing 767-300ER long-haul aircraft from Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) declared an emergency and squawked code 7700 shortly after it departed Milan.
Flight data for the airplane shows that it had climbed to 23,000 feet prior to declaring the general emergency and initiating a turn to port to track to the diversion airport Leonardo da Vinci (Fiumicino) International Airport (FCO) in the Italian capital of Rome.
The aircraft in question is a 26-year-old Boeing 767-300ER airplane, registered N189DN, belonging to the carrier Delta Air Lines.
The nature of the emergency is not known, and the decision to divert to Rome is as yet unclear. The aircraft was fuelled for the transatlantic flight to New York with an expected flight time of just over eight hours duration.
Runway lengths at both Rome (FCO) and Milan (MXP) are approximately 3,900 meters usable length.
Onwards Flight Rome – New York
Data from Flightradar24 shows that flight DL185 is now scheduled to depart Rome for New York JFK at 15:30 local time. The same aircraft, registration N189DN, is scheduled to carry out the onwards flight from the Italian capital.
Delta Air Lines does not have an operational hub in Rome, though it does have does have a Delta Sky Club lounge at Rome Fiumicino Airport. The airline operates flights to Rome out of its hubs in Atlanta and New York JFK.
Update
According to the social media account Flight Emergency, Delta Air Lines flight DL185 suffered damage to its nose cone assembly during its departure from Milan earlier today. Reports filtering through have revealed that the aircraft suffered significant damage after it encountered severe turbulence and a hailstorm.
Photographs posted to social media show significant damage to the airplane’s nose radome assembly and engine spinners. It is understood that damage was sustained to the wing leading edge and engine fan blades.
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