Delta’s Damaged 757 Is Back In Service!

By: Ben Schlappig

Updated: July 31, 2023
Published: December 13, 2019

30 comments

In mid-August, a Delta 757 flying from New York to Ponta Delgada in the Azores had a really rough landing.

The plane sustained a shocking number of rips and tears throughout the fuselage and wings.

A couple of readers were on the flight and shared their experience. For example, reader Beth said the following:

I was on this flight and am a frequent flier, but first time to the Azores. It was overcast. The approach is over the coast above cliffs. All seemed fine, though there was some not uncommon wing wagging. But, the initial impact was very hard and not on all gear, mostly on the left, not nose or right. We bounced and came down hard again on the left, possibly some on the nose gear, and bounced up and tilted to the left. I was in first cabin and this was pretty pronounced. At this point, I was unsure of a landing or accident. But, on the next bounce, we evened out, then came up slightly, then down and held. I’ve had hard landings, but never had a landing like that. I was surprised the other passengers didn’t talk about it, because it’s true we did not. Perhaps, people didn’t want to admit they were scared or other parts of the plane didn’t get the same impact. I don’t pretend to know about the effect of different winds or piloting, etc., but it went bad, and almost real bad.

Reader Erinr said the following:

I was on this flight. It seemed like a crosswind issue, lots of crabbing into the approach, and the wings never seemed level. We bounced so hard everything flew around the cabin. Id be curious if the PA announcements were recorded cause they were kinda slurry. Just thankful to be on the ground and on my honeymoon.

With the level of damage, a lot of people assumed that this would be a write-off, and that the plane would never fly again. It’s one thing if one particular part of a plane is badly damaged, but when several parts of the fuselage, the wings, etc., all have damage, one would assume it’s really bad.

Many were surprised to learn that Delta was trying to fix the plane, which I was kind of expecting, given that Delta loves planes that are fixer-uppers. In late August, an Antonov AN-124 was even flown to Ponta Delgada with supplies to try and fix the 757.

Amazingly enough, in mid-September Delta flew the damaged plane from Ponta Delgada to Atlanta.

Now there’s a further update. From mid-September until the end of November, the plane was being repaired in the Atlanta and Jacksonville area, and then as of December 1, 2019, the plane reentered commercial service. So it looks like the plane was being repaired in the US for roughly 2.5 months before it was ready to fly again.

In the past couple of weeks the plane has been crisscrossing the US, and has even been operating flights to Hawaii.

The plane has the registration code N543US, in case you’re curious to track it.

I’m impressed they were able to repair this plane. I’d be fascinated to know how much that all cost, though I doubt we’ll ever find out. I’d also be curious to know just how many repairs were done in the Azores compared to in the US. In other words, within a month the plane was in a good enough state to cross the Atlantic, but then it took over two more months for the plane to be fully repaired.

Interesting stuff…

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David Plummer Guest

March 7, 2020, 1:50 am

As with others, I would not be comfortable getting onboard this aircraft. To this day, I am stunned that Delta didn't retire it and bring an undamaged aircraft out of storage (they have many 757-200 in storage). I remember the JAL 747 that crashed due to an improper repair of the aft pressure bulkhead after a tail strike incident. I'm thankful that no one was killed on the Delta 757, but N543US should have been pulled from service and retired. If I end up on a 757 flight, I will be checking the registration. One thing that always gets me questioning authorities on any issue, is the potential arrogance in their statements. The "we are so good the plane is better than new" or "we've controlled for all the variables" or "the ship is unsinkable" ends up reducing my confidence. We humans are NOT perfect creatures. We have achieved many technological wonders, but there is always the unknown. When the JAL plane was repaired, everyone thought it had received all the repairs it needed. I have a hard time believing that provides any comfort from the families of the 500+ people killed.

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a Guest

December 17, 2019, 11:04 pm

@Timothy J. Petkus Thank you so much!

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Timothy J Petkus Guest

December 17, 2019, 2:29 pm

The issues with the "pickle fork's" should not worry you... different issues come up as airplanes age, and that's why extra inspections are created as new areas of concern are found. The reality is the NG series is in prime, old enough to be well understood, but still new enough to be a very reliable workhorse. The reality is, it is a longer-term mx issue, not an real immediate safety issue that would have never made the news cycle if it wasn't for the MAX issues.

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a Guest

December 16, 2019, 8:11 pm

@Timothy J. Petkus What do you think about 737-800 ng issues? I am supposed to fly Alaska and they use that fleet. Thank you!

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ronald b hand Guest

December 16, 2019, 1:56 pm

Many years ago at EWR a L0111 landed ( hard) and ruptured the fuel tank & cracked the main spar. It was towed to the freight office parking area. Many mechanics were brought in from ATL. The plane was raised on Jacks and a large tarp covered the plane. Lockheed said it would take x number of days to repair. Our mechanics had the plane in the air back to ATL for additional repairs in half the time of Lockheeds est. Delta sent me a piece of the tarp that covered the plane with a letter signed by Mr. Garrett thanking me for whatever assistance I provided. Our mechanics were and are the best in the business.

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