Israeli-bound passengers took an unscheduled round trip to and from JFK after the pilot exercised ”abundance of caution” following a report of a fire on board. No one was hurt.
A strong odor of smoke was detected on Delta flight DL-268 Saturday night, after it took off from JFK carrying 390 passengers and a crew of 18. The crew reported that there was a fire in the galley, according to Aviation Herald.
The plane had already reached an altitude of 13,000 feet when the pilot requested an emergency landing on the longest runway possible. The fire went out during the descent, but several fuel pumps malfunctioned. The pilot kept the Boeing 747-400 in the air until excess fuel could be dumped as a precautionary measure.
Ninety minutes after departure, the passengers landed safely back at the airport and were given accommodations overnight until departing again 24 hours later.
Before the fire and smoke were reported, radio communication with the control tower was intermittent, as if there were electrical problems. However, further transmissions were understandable, Aviation Herald reported, and the plane began to ascend until the smoke was reported.
Subsequent inspection revealed that there was an electrical problem with a fuel pump.