The plane, a McDonnell Douglas 88 model operated by Delta Airlines, was forced to land in Knoxville just before 9:30 a.m. after its right engine began to make rumbling and screeching noises.
USA Today - Tennessee Network Sports Columnist Joe Rexrode was aboard the plane on his way to cover Sunday's matchup between the Tennessee Titans and the Cleveland Browns. Rexrode said that the engine trouble began around 15 or 20 minutes after the plane had taken off in Atlanta and that the smell of burning oil was overwhelming in the cabin.
"Basically, there was this awful sound, you could just tell that the right engine was out," Rexrode said. "It was just screeching and the plane rumbled really heavily and you just knew it was gone. That was followed by the smell. "
Delta flight 1474 left Atlanta just before 9 a.m. and was scheduled to reach Cleveland by 10:30 a.m. The plane was carrying 139 passengers and six crew members, according to Delta Air Lines spokesperson Anthony Black. The crew received a system notification that one of the engines was experiencing trouble, Black said, and elected to shut the engine down and land in Knoxville at about 20 minutes after 9 a.m.
Rexrode said that in addition to the screeching and rumbling coming from the plane's engine, the plane began to shake in a way the he knew was not turbulence.
"I’ve flown hundreds of flights, and I’ve never had anything like this happen," he said.
"For a few minutes in there, it was just really scary, because you felt like we didn’t have power in the plane and it was just really rumbling, and not like turbulence," he added.
McGhee Tyson Airport spokesperson Caitlin Barraf said that the plane landed safely and that the airport's Public Safety crew was there to assist the plane's crew and passengers after it landed. No injuries were reported and a response team from Delta is handling the situation.
Story and video ➤ http://www.knoxnews.com
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