Delta flight makes unscheduled Amsterdam landing

8/7/2013

AMSTERDAM — A Delta Air Lines flight bound for Detroit from Paris landed safely in Amsterdam with no injuries today after being diverted due to a technical problem.

The Airbus 330 was unable to retract its flaps on take-off, Delta spokesman Anthony Black told The Associated Press in Atlanta, where the airline is based. There were 298 passengers and 11 crew members aboard.

In a statement, the airline described the landing of Flight 99 at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport as “uneventful.” Firefighters were ready at the scene, apparently as a precautionary measure.

Delta technicians were inspecting the aircraft before determining whether they can fix it and continue on, Black said. Passengers might also be put on other flights or given rooms in local hotels for the night, he said.

The flight left Paris shortly before 11 a.m. local time, and it touched down in nearby Amsterdam shortly after 4 p.m. Websites that track flight routes showed Flight 99 spent much of the intervening five hours circling above Norwich, England.