Oven Fire on Delta Flight Strands Passengers for 2 Days

A Delta Air Lines flight from Lagos, Nigeria, to Atlanta was forced to make an emergency landing after a galley oven caught fire just minutes into its journey—leaving nearly 200 passengers unexpectedly grounded in Ghana last week, USA Today reports. The incident started Tuesday, when Flight 55 left Murtala Muhammed International Airport as scheduled, bound for Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. According to Delta, "food debris on the oven's heating element" set off what a spokesperson describes as a "small-scale fire."

Crew members, who reportedly did not need to use a fire extinguisher, decided to play it safe: the pilot alerted air traffic control and the Airbus A330-200 was diverted to Accra, Ghana. On board were 188 passengers, four pilots, and nine flight attendants. After a safe landing, maintenance crews inspected the aircraft and found no lasting damage; nobody was injured in the episode. Passengers were given accommodations, and the trip resumed two days later, departing Accra on Thursday. (Delta is making a big move to combat toxic cabin air.)