A Delta Boeing 767 made an emergency landing after its exit slide fell off in midair

• A Delta flight from NYC to LA had to turn back after its emergency exit slide detached.
• The Boeing 767 landed safely at JFK about an hour after taking off.

A Boeing plane was forced to make an emergency landing on Friday after an emergency slide fell off the aircraft.

Delta Air Lines flight 520 from New York's JFK airport aborted its trip to LA on Friday and landed back where it started.

It touched down again at around 8:30 a.m., just an hour into its journey, according to the tracking site Flightradar24.

A Delta spokesperson told Business Insider that the flight crew had been alerted by a "flight deck indication related to the right wing emergency exit slide, as well as a non-routine sound from near the right wing."

"After the aircraft had safely landed and proceeded to a gate, it was observed that the emergency slide had separated from the aircraft," the spokesperson said.

The airline didn't offer any detail on when, how, or why the slide detached — or where it ended up.

The Delta spokesperson said the airline was "fully supporting retrieval efforts and will fully cooperate in investigations."

No injuries were reported aboard the aircraft, which had been carrying 176 customers, two pilots, and five flight attendants.

In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration said: "Delta Air Lines Flight 520 returned safely to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York around 8:35 a.m. local time on Friday, April 26, after the crew reported a vibration."

"The FAA will investigate," it added.

Delta said it had removed the plane in question from service.

The aircraft was a version of the Boeing 767 and was manufactured in 1990.

According to Flexport, a global logistics workflow company, an aircraft is generally operable for around 30 years before it needs to be retired.

In 2019, an evacuation slide from a Delta flight fell into a man's yard in Massachusetts, CNN reported at the time.

Delta is not the only airline to have experienced such an issue, however.

In 2023, a slide from a United Airlines-operated plane landed in a backyard near Chicago O'Hare Airport.

The FAA said maintenance workers at the airport found an emergency slide was missing on a United Boeing 767 that had landed safely from Switzerland, ABC7 Chicago reported.