Banging Noise Turns Delta Flight Around Twice

ATLANTA, GA — A Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to London was turned around twice Tuesday night after pilots heard loud banging noises.

Delta Flight 284 took off from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport shortly before 8 p.m. According to Delta, its pilots heard an "abnormal noise" coming from the plane and, to be safe, they decided to turn around. The plane reportedly was over North Carolina when it turned around and, according to flight-tracking website Flightaware, it returned to Hartsfield-Jackson at 9:16 p.m.

The flight's more than 200 passengers were put on another plane but, once it took off, pilots once again heard a loud banging noise, Delta said.

"I heard that. I felt it. It was like someone dropping a lead ball on the floor," passenger Alex Brown told WSB-TV. "And (the pilot) came back on and said we're going to turn around. Everything is OK with the airplane but as caution, we're going to turn around."

According to the airline, mechanics were still working Wednesday to determine what caused the noises.

"The safety of Delta’s customers and crew is always our top priority and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience," Delta spokesman Michael Thomas said in an email statement.

Passengers were provided overnight accommodations in Atlanta and the flight, to London's Heathrow Airport, has been rescheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

File photo courtesy Delta Air Lines