It can’t be fun to be flying miles above the Earth and then have the plane cabin fill up with smoke. But passengers on a Delta Air Lines flight who had to sit through a bit of a scare until when one of their plane’s engines reportedly went out at least got free pizza when the plane landed to soothe any frayed nerves.

Late on Thursday, a Delta plane flying from Fort Lauderdale to New York was diverted to Charleston, S.C. “after a performance issue with one of the Boeing MD-88 aircraft’s two engines was observed,” an airline spokesman told ABC News, adding that the plane landed safely and taxied to a gate.

Passengers reported a smoky mid-air scene that caused some alarm, including a 60 Minutes producer who happened to be on the flight and shot video of the smoke in the cabin. She told CBS News the captain informed the 89 passengers onboard he’d shut down one of the engines.

“We could hear the beeping of the smoke alarm and it was pretty quickly — the cabin was filling up with smoke pretty quickly — so yeah, it was a little nerve wracking,” she said. “They told all of us to put our heads down in our laps because the air would be fresher.”

Another passenger who spoke to ABC News shot video after the plane had landed, with the hashtag #neveradullday:

Delta provided pizza and beverage for the travelers passing the time in Charleston before getting another plane to take them to New York’s LaGuardia Airport around four hours late. Because everyone knows hot, melty cheese can help ease the mind, not to mention the stomach.

“Delta’s top priority on every flight is safety and apologizes for the delay,” the spokesman added.

Delta Flight From Florida Diverted After Smoke Fills Cabin [ABC News]
Delta passenger’s “scariest flight ever” [CBS News]

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