Delta Air Lines Hangar Involved in Foaming Incident
Delta Air Lines Hangar Involved in Foaming Incident

Delta Air Lines Hangar Involved in Foaming Incident

Aaron Hilsz-Lothian·
Aviation NewsDelta Air LinesSafety

A Delta Air Lines aircraft hangar, at Los Angeles International Airport, was involved in a foaming incident earlier this week; after the fire suppression system was triggered, leaving an aircraft partially submerged in foam.

Information remains scarce, however it is clear that whatever happened lead to a, seriously, big bubble bath for the small aircraft located in proximity of the hangar doors.

Reports suggest there was no way to cut off the system fast enough, leading to ground workers to open the hangar doors, resulting in the wave of fire suppression foam outside the building.

Someone commenting on the topic on the Airliners.net forum said that the aircraft backed into the hangar with its auxiliary power unit (APU) running, which would produce sufficient heat to trigger a fire suppression system.

However another person commenting cites a Reddit post from a supposed Delta TechOps employee, who stated that the rain at the time shorted the fire suppression system for the new hangar; possibly due to an incorrect installation.

Although it is clear that at least one aircraft outside the hangar ended up with foam almost covering the wings, the same supposed TechOps employee said that a Boeing 777 was inside at the time and will now be facing a potential dual engine change.

Until more details are released (if they ever will be) these posts about what happened must be taken with a grain of salt. Either way Delta is facing an expensive cleanup and maintenance job, on either the one aircraft outside or the reported ones inside the hangar.

Delta Air Lines Hangar Involved in Foaming Incident
Delta Air Lines Hangar Involved in Foaming Incident

Delta declined to comment on the full details of the incident, however they did say that the fire suppression system malfunctioned and an investigation is underway.

A similar incident occurred in September 2019, when the first Airbus A220 to be made in the United States of America was involved in a foaming incident. Interestingly enough, the aircraft involved was also for Delta Air Lines.

First American Made Airbus A220 Damaged in Production Incident

Could Delta Air Lines’ aircraft like playing in expensive bubble baths?