A Boeing 737-900ER operated by Delta Air Lines returned to its hub at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) on Sunday after reportedly experiencing pressurization issues. The aircraft was bound for Portland, Oregon. The pilots rerouted the plane back to its origin just minutes after it had taken off.
Delta quickly deployed a replacement aircraft to continue the flight and has since apologized for the incident. Flight details The mishap was first reported by Salt Lake City local affiliate ABC4 Utah . Data from Flightradar24 indicates that DL1203, enroute to Portland International Airport (PDX) , was operated by N916DU.
The plane pushed back from gate A16 on Sunday morning at 07:56. It taxied over to runway 16L, where it was airborne at 08:11. The plane followed the standard departure procedures, immediately turning northwest once it was in the air.
It quickly gained speed and climbed in altitude as it crossed over the southern half of the Great Salt Lake. At approximately 8:14 – just three minutes into the flight – data shows that the aircraft leveled off at around 10,000 feet above sea level. It then descended about a thousand feet and maintained the altitude for about a minute longer.
Returning to SLC Once it reached 8,000 feet, the plane turned directly north and then east. Minutes later, the aircraft turned southeast to intercept the approach path toward SLC. It continued to descend and lined up with runway 16R, where it touched down safely at 08:28.
It is unclear.