Delta flight from Los Angeles makes emergency landing due to smoke on board

By Karina Tsui, CNN

(CNN) — A Delta Air Lines flight from Los Angeles International Airport bound for Sydney on Saturday was forced to return after smoke was detected on board.

The flight, DL43, which took off shortly after 9:00 p.m., returned to LAX around 30 minutes later, according to data from FlightAware.

The Airbus A350-900 aircraft landed safely and the plane proceeded to an arrival gate, Delta said in a statement to CNN. The 162 passengers on board are being reaccommodated on a different flight.

“Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people,” the statement said. “That’s why the flight crew followed established procedures to return to Los Angeles (LAX) after smoke was detected in the galley. We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels.”

The flight arrived at the gate “on its own power without further incident,” LAX spokesperson Justin Upshaw told CNN.

Upon landing, there was no smoke in the cockpit, but pilots requested medical attention for passengers who may have been affected by smoke, according to audio from LiveATC.net.

A rescue ambulance was requested for “a patient with possible smoke inhalation,” but ultimately no passengers were transported via ambulance to a hospital, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Lyndsey Lantz.

CNN’s Travis Caldwell contributed to this report.

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