Flight from Salt Lake City to Detroit makes emergency landing in Wyoming

June 15 (UPI) -- A Delta flight from Salt Lake City to Detroit made an emergency landing at a Wyoming airport when pilot deployed fire extinguishing measures in the cargo hold.

Cheyenne Regional Airport Director Tim Barth said the Airbus A321 made an emergency landing at the airport after detecting rapidly rising temperatures in the cargo area of the aircraft after 3 p.m. Friday.

The pilots deployed fire extinguishing bottles and diverted to the Wyoming airport.

"As soon as they did that at 35,000 feet, they knew they needed to land at an airport quickly," Barth told the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. "And, we were it. I got a call around 3:15 p.m. as I was leaving. They said 'we've got an inbound Delta Airbus that's on fire,' which got my attention."

The plane landed in Cheyenne at 3:21 p.m. No injuries were reported and passengers were allowed to go back onto the plane to retrieve their belongings once the aircraft was cleared by firefighters.

"The fire department did have some higher readings, but not to indicate it was unsafe," Barth said.

He said the fire department's investigation indicated the incident may have been caused by an electrical malfunction.

Delta arranged with the airport to have food brought to the more than 200 passengers and crew members who were stranded at the hub.

Arrangements were made by Delta to have a Boeing 757 sent to the airport to take the passengers the rest of the way to Detroit about midnight.