Delta MD88 near Charlotte on Jan 7th 2014, engine surges

A Delta Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-88, registration N927DA performing flight DL-781 from New York La Guardia,NY to Atlanta,GA (USA), was enroute at FL300 about 60nm north of Charlotte,NC (USA) when an engine emitted a bang for the second time prompting the crew to divert to Charlotte for a safe landing about 20 minutes later. The crew shut the left hand engine down after landing, emergency services checked the engine before the aircraft proceeded to the apron.

A passenger reported that the aircraft was enroute at FL340 about 170nm north of Charlotte when an engine emitted a bang, a smell of smoke developed shortly after. The crew descended the aircraft to FL300 and announced there had been an aircraft fault, the smell of smoke dissipated again. About 25 minutes later a second bang occurred after which the crew decided to divert to Charlotte. The crew announced that there were problems with the pressure on the left hand engine.

A replacement MD-88 reached Atlanta with a delay of 9 hours.