A Delta airline 757 was recently damaged after reports that it made a hard landing in Portugal’s Azores Islands. There were no recorded injuries, but the photos shared of the wrecked plane illustrated wrinkled skin on the fuselage.

Photos of the incident uploaded on social media suggested the skin of the aircraft crumpled at the top in front of the second door. The bottom of the fuselage also appeared damaged behind the nose gear.
Several sources suggested this damage occurred from the nose gear coming down too hard on the runway.

The force of the impact on the runway may have caused the damage.

Early reports also claimed the landing was so bumpy that parts of the plane’s exterior seemed to buckle upon impact. The aircraft was, fortunately, able to taxi as usual and the passengers deplaned according to standard protocol.

Early investigative analyses also blamed the wind conditions for the rough landing as the Azores area is famed for having notoriously windy weather.

A representative from Delta stated the flight sustained damage on its arrival into Ponta Delgada on the 18th, and it was being investigated. Passengers got off normally, and those who booked a flight from the archipelago on the return flight were re-accommodated on an additional flight.

The return flight from the Azores to New York JFK was canceled. Rescue flight DL9959 landed in the Azores and collected the stranded passengers.

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Plane Pixabay

It was not the first time a plane landed roughly.

In June, a plane from United Airlines skidded off the runway when the tires burst from a rough landing at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Aeroflot Flight SU1492 burst into flames after a rough landing at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport earlier in May. There were 41 casualties out of the 78 souls aboard.

In February, a British Airways flight to Heathrow from Hyderabad bounced once on the runway before taking to the air to circle for a proper landing.

There have been instances of close calls entailing large craft rough landings before, but only one recent one resulted in catastrophe; Aeroflot Flight SU1492.

Sources from Delta Airlines indicated it was impossible to tell whether the aircraft would be operated again.

There is still a lot of work left to be done, including inspection and working out the cost-benefit analysis of having the plane fixed.

Several have made comments online saying the aircraft is beyond repair. Writer for Runway girl, John Walton called it ‘beercans’ on Twitter.