DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A Delta Airlines jet on its way to Haiti was forced to make an emergency landing at Daytona Beach International Airport late Monday afternoon after the plane's windshield cracked, according to Volusia County Fire Rescue.
Delta Flight 685 landed without incident at 3:59 p.m.
None of the 157 people on board were injured during the landing, although one passenger fell ill for an unknown reason.
The Airbus 320 departed from Atlanta at 2:44 p.m. and was on its way to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, when the windshield cracked.
"The pilot actually woke me up," passenger Larry Newcomer said.
Newcomer said the plane was traveling through a storm and heavy turbulence.
"One almost pulled me out of my seat we dropped so far," he said.
"All of a sudden we had a big jolt, like we had struck something," passenger Ken McLeod added.
McLeod said it was soon after that the pilot announced hail had damaged the plane, and they were forced to land in Daytona Beach.
News 6 found out many of the passengers were missionaries traveling to Port-au-Prince.
Some said they were flying for the first time.
"The flight crew of Delta Flight 685 from Atlanta to Port-au-Prince, Haiti elected to divert to Daytona Beach out of an abundance of caution after an issue arose with the aircraft’s windshield. The Airbus A320 landed without incident and customers deplaned normally at the gate. The safety of Delta’s customers and crew is always our top priority," Delta said in a statement.
The airline put passengers up in hotels overnight.
Passengers told News 6 they were scheduled to depart Daytona Beach at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.