A full Delta 757 aircraft had to be evacuated Tuesday afternoon after smoke filled the cabin and cockpit.
The Seattle-bound Delta flight 2153 had just been boarded and was still parked at the gate. Most of the 224 passengers left the aircraft through the front door. A Delta spokesman said about two dozen opted to use the emergency slide over the right wing.
Metropolitan airports spokesman Patrick Hogan said the evacuation was unusual.
"(It is) very rare that the slides are deployed. Often times the crews will try to get the people out through the gate if they can, simply because there's less likelihood that someone will get hurt," Hogan said. "But in this case, it sounds like some of the passengers when they were told to evacuate, chose that route instead."
No one was hurt. All passengers were re-booked on another flight to Seattle. The NTSB is investigating the cause of the smoke.