Engine trouble forces Delta flight to Charlotte to return to ATL

A Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Charlotte was forced to return to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport Thursday night after an explosion, possibly engine-related, led to smoke in the cabin.

Delta spokesman Anthony Black told the AJC that Flight 1442 "experienced a problem with one of its engines shortly after takeoff from Atlanta." Black said the cause of the explosion had not been determined.

Black said a loud boom heard by passengers was "the damage to the engine' and that there was smoke in the cabin after the incident. Some passengers told news organizations they saw flames coming from the engine.

Ginger Heath of Monroe, N.C., told The Charlotte Observer that she saw sparks and then a fireball after the "huge explosion."

The MD-80 "landed without incident around 9:30 p.m. and taxied to the gate," the spokesman said.

"A new aircraft was used for the flight to Charlotte while Delta's maintenance team inspected the original aircraft," Black said.

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