A Delta Air Lines flight returned to its gate Sunday at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in New York after deicing fluid leaked through the aircraft and onto a passenger seated near the wing.
The incident occurred on Delta Flight 1307, an Airbus A220-100, as it prepared to depart from LGA for Jacksonville, Florida. The flight was scheduled to leave around 2:20 p.m. local time, but was delayed for about 3 hours, according to Flightaware.com.
The pilot of Flight 1307 can be heard in air traffic control audio obtained through LiveATC.net, requesting to return to the gate after the aircraft visited the deicing pad.
“Delta 1307 coming out of the echo deice pad, we need to head back to the gate,” the pilot said to a controller. “We had a bunch of deicing fluid leak inside the aircraft and soak a passenger.”
The controller asked if medical services were needed for the passenger or if the passenger just needed to dry off. The pilot responded, saying, “Maybe a new pair of pants for him or something.” He added that maintenance needed to inspect the aircraft because the crew was not used to that coming into the fuselage.
A spokesperson for Delta confirmed the incident to GlobalAir.com, calling it a very rare occurrence. Delta said only a small amount of deicing fluid got on the passenger’s clothing, that the passenger was not soaked like the ATC audio indicated, that the fluid was non-hazardous, and posed no safety concern to the passenger.
Delta said the plane returned to its gate and all passengers were put on a new aircraft. The passenger affected by the fluid chose to stay with the airline and continue traveling, Delta told GlobalAir.com. The flight later departed around 5:22 p.m. local time.
Deicing is routinely used during winter operations to remove snow and ice from aircraft surfaces that affect lift. The process typically involves spraying warm water mixed with propylene glycol.
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