Anyone following Jason Rabinowitz (@AirlineFlyer) on Twitter Wednesday was treated to a nail-biting thrill ride as he provided updates on a Delta aircraft that flew into Puerto Rico as Hurricane Irma reached land.
DL431 going back to New York as DL302 Everything else out of SJU is cancelled. #DL431 #DL302 Are Delta mad? #Delta pic.twitter.com/qor1Oy6YpY
— Paul Tompkins (@foxyfilbert00) September 6, 2017
The entire tweetstorm played out like a B-rate suspense film, but the danger was very real. Rabinowitz first noticed several flights turning around just short of Puerto Rico and heading back up to the mainland as Irma approached.
A few flights attempted to squeak into @AeropuertoSJU ahead of Hurricane #Irma
— Jason Rabinowitz (@AirlineFlyer) September 6, 2017
Too late. 2x @JetBlue & 1 @AmericanAir flight turning around pic.twitter.com/ssGLh5EFCp
It looked like the skies near Puerto Rico would be clear of aircraft until one daring Delta flight was spotted heading from JFK airport directly toward the hurricane.
You really want to fly into SJU during a category 5 hurricane, DL431?
— Jason Rabinowitz (@AirlineFlyer) September 6, 2017
Everyone else has turned around. pic.twitter.com/nHdChvYh2Y
Weather reports showed conditions in Puerto Rico degrading as the hurricane barreled toward the capital of San Juan. Still, the tiny airline symbol that denotes Delta’s Boeing 737 airliner continued its path toward the small Caribbean island.
DL431 is going for it.
— Jason Rabinowitz (@AirlineFlyer) September 6, 2017
Latest METAR: 35011G20KT pic.twitter.com/MqNgVPenQ8
At this point, people started to get very worried for those inside the plane.
Can they do a 25 minute turn around to get it out? Assume that is the plan
— Darren Cohen (@_DarrenCohen) September 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/M_Urquijo/status/905469308372967426
https://twitter.com/M_Urquijo/status/905475028967464962
Fortunately, the plane landed without issue—but the clock was on—DL431 needed to get out of Puerto Rico before the eye of the storm hit.
Aaaaaaaand… Landed! #DL431 #Irma https://t.co/XN6E2TcXUN pic.twitter.com/mrqQsaYpre
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) September 6, 2017
Delta quickly got everyone off the plane and bumped its departure to “early arrival.” As you can see, the flight was right in the arms of the hurricane as it departed San Juan airport. As Rabinowitz notes, DL302 was only on the ground between flights for 52 minutes including taxiing.
Now DL302 has to climb out of SJU, and they’re doing so between the outer band of #Irma and the core of the storn. Amazing stuff. pic.twitter.com/lOq9Te5DO6
— Jason Rabinowitz (@AirlineFlyer) September 6, 2017
While we don’t yet have footage from the Delta flight, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) posted a terrifying video of its planes flying through Hurricane Irma, whose winds have reached 180 miles per hour. This should give you a good idea of the monster passengers on DL302 saw when they looked out the window.
Video of a flight through the eye of #Irma on #NOAA42. Flights on both the WP-3D Orion and G-IV #NOAA49 continue. Credit Nick Underwood/NOAA pic.twitter.com/9ini4bOnYF
— NOAA Aircraft Operations Center (@NOAA_HurrHunter) September 5, 2017
To learn more about Hurricane Irma, including ways to track the storm, check out our previous coverage.
