File - Travelers with their luggage (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — It was anything but an ordinary flight for the passengers of Delta flight 2544 Monday morning.
The flight departed Glacier Park, Montana on-time at 5:50 a.m., but that’s the first and final thing that went according to schedule.
Passengers say at about 18,000 feet the pilot went on speaker and informed everyone they were experiencing engine loss.
“We heard it, oh yeah we felt it,” explains passenger Scott Sanderude. “So the nose dipped and then we proceeded into Missoula.”
By all accounts the emergency landing in Missoula, Montana went relatively smooth, especially considering the circumstances.
A scary situation like that can create panic, but those on board say everything went fine.
“No, everybody stayed real calm, the pilots were great,” explains Sanderude. “They handled it real well and it worked out fine.”
The flight was originally supposed to arrive in Salt Lake City at 7:30 a.m., but a nearly six hour stop in Missoula threw a wrench in those plans.
Instead passengers arrived at Salt Lake International Airport just before 3 p.m., more than seven hours after their originally anticipated arrival time.
In the end, the aircraft that took everyone from Missoula to Salt Lake City was not the original plane that encountered engine problems.
“The plane is still sitting in Missoula for awhile,” he explains. “They diverted a plane in from Minneapolis.”
Finally in Salt Lake, Sanderude expressed relief and gratitude to be back home and in one piece.
“It was an all day adventure, but we’re OK,” he says. “We’re kind of happy to land though.”