Passengers on a recent Delta Air Lines flight were forced to hold the ceiling up with their hands after it threatened to collapse mid-flight.
Video footage of the incident shared to social media shows several passengers holding up the aircraft’s ceiling with their hands while seated.
“My Hommie [homie/friend] was on a Delta flight and the ceiling collapsed,” TikTok user Lucas Michael Layne captioned the video, which shows travellers on the flight from Atlanta to Chicago attempting to secure the roof with their hands.
The clip then shows the ceiling apparently secured into its original position and covered with strips of neon yellow tape.
Mr Layne added that cabin staff “finally duct taped it after he held it up for awhile”.
He claimed that Delta then offered the affected passengers 10,000 air miles – the equivalent of around $120 (£90) – for being forced to return to their departure point in Atlanta to await another aircraft to transfer them to their destination in Chicago.
“These planes!!!” he concluded.
The post attracted more than 208,000 views and 6,336 likes.
“I’m an aircraft mechanic,” wrote one commenter. “Those panels are sh*t. Doesn’t surprise me.”
Others argued that the panel was “purely cosmetic” and “not a hazard”, prompting the original poster to write: “So if a plane piece falls that you have to hold up mid flight so it doesn’t hit an elderly woman, your (sic) such an engineer that it would not bother you?
“All that is great but emotionally seeing a plane fall apart at 30,000 feet is not cool.”
Another added: “You can still get hurt from cosmetic pieces of the aircraft.”
A spokesperson for Delta told the New York Post that the plane panel was “affixed into place so customers did not have to manually hold it during flight” and that no one was injured.
Passengers faced a two-hour delay before continuing their journey on another aircraft.
“Delta thanks our customers for their patience and cooperation. We apologise for the delay in their travels,” the spokesperson continued.
The Independent has contacted Delta for comment.
The incident occurred a week before Delta Airlines flight 1213 caught fire on the tarmac at Orlando International Airport.
Passengers were evacuated and there were no reports of any injuries, Delta said in a statement.
Airport officials said the engine fire broke out before a scheduled departure from Orlando to Atlanta on Monday.
