Delta Airlines flight: Boeing 767 plane from Edinburgh Airport to JFK forced to divert to London Heathrow over 'cracked windscreen'

A Delta Air Lines Boeing plane travelling from Edinburgh Airport to JFK in New York was forced to divert to London’s Heathrow Airport yesterday (Sunday 2 June). FlightEmergency on X, formerly Twitter, said that the aircraft was forced to divert due to a “cracked windscreen”.

The page posted: “Delta flight DL209 has just diverted to Heathrow due to a cracked windscreen”. A passenger on the flight responded to the post on X saying: “Was on that flight. They didn’t mention the cracked windshield but we diverted from 34000 feet to 26000 feet and said that there wasn’t enough fuel to get to NYC so we had to go to LHR instead. Attempted 2 tomorrow!”.

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 767 and comes as the company is under intense scrutiny and pressure over the safety of its planes following the Alaska Airlines incident on 5 January which saw a door plug blow out shortly after take off. Whistleblowers have come forward to raise concerns about the manufacturer’s safety standards.

Earlier this year, Sam Salehpour, a current quality engineer for the manufacturer, testified to Congress about his concerns. He said Boeing has a “culture of retaliation” when employees speak up about their concerns.

When asked if the planes are safe, Mr Salehpour testified: “It’s like an earthquake. When that hits the building ... [it has] to be prepared to accommodate that type of shake-up... Right now, from what I’ve seen, the airplanes are not being billed per spec, and per requirements.”

NationalWorld has contacted Delta Air Lines for comment.