An amazing feat by everyone involved.
Almost 200 people were evacuated from San Juan in Puerto Rico thanks to Delta Airlines just before the island bore the brunt of Hurricane Irma on Wednesday.
Flight data shows that a Delta flight from New York to San Juan arrived at the airport, pulled into the gate and departed less than an hour later with 170 passengers on board to successfully escape one of the worst storms the Atlantic Ocean has ever seen.
It arrived in New York at 4.15pm local time on Wednesday, 45 minutes ahead of schedule.
Images from live air traffic website flightradar24 help illustrate the incredible feat pulled off by everyone associated with Delta flights 431 and 302 on a day when other airlines couldn’t land due to strong winds or turned back before reaching Puerto Rico.
A few flights attempted to squeak into @AeropuertoSJU ahead of Hurricane #Irma
Too late. 2x @JetBlue & 1 @AmericanAir flight turning around pic.twitter.com/ssGLh5EFCp
— Jason Rabinowitz (@AirlineFlyer) September 6, 2017
You really want to fly into SJU during a category 5 hurricane, DL431?
Everyone else has turned around. pic.twitter.com/nHdChvYh2Y
— Jason Rabinowitz (@AirlineFlyer) September 6, 2017
DL431 is going for it.
Latest METAR: 35011G20KT pic.twitter.com/MqNgVPenQ8
— Jason Rabinowitz (@AirlineFlyer) September 6, 2017
Here they go! DL302 now taxiing for takeoff before #Irma gets really bad. pic.twitter.com/CNfk5L6oaa
— Jason Rabinowitz (@AirlineFlyer) September 6, 2017
Takeoff! An absolutely amazing job here by @Delta forecasters, dispatchers, flight and ground crews. Full flight back up to JFK.#Irma pic.twitter.com/sSulqA8g7t
— Jason Rabinowitz (@AirlineFlyer) September 6, 2017
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
Well, that's the end of that story. DL302 is reaching the edge of #Irma's outer bands.
Guess the flight crew serves lunch now…? pic.twitter.com/IDTV3WuLd5
— Jason Rabinowitz (@AirlineFlyer) September 6, 2017
“Our meteorology team is the best in the business,” Delta’s Erik Snell told The Guardian.
“They took a hard look at the weather data and the track of the storm and worked with the flight crew and dispatcher to agree it was safe to operate the flight. And our flight and ground crews were incredible in their effort to turn the aircraft quickly and safely so the flight could depart well before the hurricane threat.”
At least 14 people have been reported dead after Hurricane Irma wreaked a trail of destruction of a series of islands in the northeast Caribbean in recent days; residents of the state of Florida in the United States have been urged to be on alert as it heads their way this weekend.
Main image via flightradar24.com
