Tampa-To-Detroit Flight Forced To Turn Around Due To Engine Trouble

TAMPA (WWJ) -- A commercial flight destined for Detroit was forced to return to Tampa Bay mid-flight due to an engine issue on Monday.

Delta Flight 1703 was forced to return to Tampa International Airport, after the flight crew observed "a performance issue" with one of the Boeing 737's two engines and they requested an immediate return to Tampa.

A Delta Air Lines spokesperson released the following statement on the incident:

"The crew of Delta flight 1703 from Tampa to Detroit followed procedures to return to Tampa after a performance issue was observed with one of the Boeing 737-900ER's two engines. An emergency was declared for priority air traffic control handling and the aircraft landed safely. The aircraft is at an airport gate where Delta technicians are examining the aircraft while other representatives evaluate options for the 177 customers of this flight. Delta's top priority on every flight is safety and apologizes for the inconvenience."

The plane noticed the issue while near Ocala, Fl, about 100 miles north of Tampa International Airport.

The plane safely returned to the airport and none of the 177 people onboard were injured. Delta brought in a different aircraft to serve the flight which departed Tampa at 6:43 p.m. and arrived at Detroit Metro Airport around 9 p.m. Monday.

Maintenance crews are now working on the aircraft to determine what caused the engine to fail.