Passengers aboard a Delta Air Lines flight had a harrowing experience when they were forced to hold up the roof of the plane after its interior suddenly caved in. The incident transpired on a flight bound for Chicago from Atlanta on April 14 as the freaked-out passengers attempted to salvage the situation, according to a report in New York Post.
While the plane cruised at 30,000 feet, a video taken inside the cabin showed a group of men extending their arms upwards to support the collapsed roof.
"My business partner was on a @delta flight from ATL to Chicago Monday when the roof of the plane collapsed. They were an hour outside of Chicago, had to go back to Atlanta," Lucas Michael Payne, a content creator, captioned the video of the incident.
After the passengers held the roof, the aircraft crew grabbed some duct tape and managed to stick the roof temporarily.
"The attendants finally duct taped it after he held it up for a while," Mr Payne explained while outraged about the spotty patch job.
When quizzed about the incident, a spokesperson of Delta Air Lines said: "Delta thanks our customers for their patience and cooperation. We apologize for the delay in their travels."
As per Mr Payne, Delta offered the passengers "10,000 miles (basically 100 dollars)" and that they had to wait "for hours and deplane and get on another plane to Chicago".
"Planes are falling apart and no one is accountable!!!" he added.
Social media reacts
Reacting to the video, some users expressed concerns about the safety of passengers, while others said the panels did not compromise the plane's safety.
"OMG. So no one saw this on inspection of the plane," said one user, while another questioned: "It's just an interior panel. Will not compromise safety of flight."
A third commented: "That panel literally pops back into place if they tried."
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Previous instance
This is not the first instance when Delta has been in headlines for the state of its planes. In February, a Delta plane crash-landed and flipped upside down on the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Despite the shocking visuals of the plane belly up on the tarmac, all 80 passengers managed to survive.
The audio recording from the tower at the airport showed that the flight was cleared to land at about 2:10 pm local time. The tower warned the pilots of a possible air flow bump in the glide path as the plane came in to land.
