Some Delta passengers are still stranded in Saskatoon after their plane failed to take off for a second time.
Around 6:15 a.m. Friday morning, a delta flight destined for Minneapolis was scheduled to take off but slid off the runway due to freezing rain. All 74 passengers and four crew members were returned to safety in the terminal. The flight was then delayed until five p.m. Friday night but that flight also failed to take off.
Mark Irvin from Des Moines, Iowa was a passenger on both flights and says he has been at the airport for more than 14 hours since Friday. He has a connection in Minneapolis before flying home.
“It’s pretty surreal the rolling disaster that is this trip trying to get home,” said Irvin. “I should have been home 24 hours ago.”
He says that he waited two hours in line on Friday to get rebooked on a flight for Saturday. Although there is no official word on what caused the second failed take off attempt, Irvin was on board the plane.
“The pilot accelerated and we started heading down the runway. And just about the time the nose lifted off the ground, you could hear an alarm going off and a couple seconds later there was a bang, like a tire blown or something,” said Irvin. “Then immediately hold back on the thrust and hit the brakes hard and brought us to a stop.”
After another delay on Saturday, the flight is now scheduled to leave at 12:30 p.m. Irvin says that Delta has compensated him with 10,000 frequent flyer points for the delays.
“I’m ready to get home and see my kids,” said Irvin.
