Delta A350 Lands in Los Angeles After Hydraulic Failure on Hong Kong Flight

A Delta Air Lines Airbus A350-900 spent more than 27 hours on the ground in Los Angeles after its crew reported a hydraulic failure on approach, ending flight DL88 from Hong Kong with an abnormal but safe landing. The aircraft, registration N524DN, touched down on runway 25L with its landing gear doors still open and its flaps extended — a configuration that points to a degraded hydraulic state during the final minutes of a long transpacific sector.

The Aviation Herald, which first reported the event, says the crew reported hydraulic problems as the A350 neared Los Angeles. The pilots continued the approach with the gear doors open and completed a safe landing on runway 25L. The aircraft then vacated the runway and stopped clear of it, so emergency services could inspect the jet.

During that inspection, the crew asked whether their flaps were still down. Emergency services confirmed that both the wing flaps and the gear doors remained extended. About 15 minutes later, the A350 taxied to the apron under its own power.

Why the open gear doors matter

The A350 relies on two independent hydraulic circuits, designated green and yellow, to drive its flight controls, flaps, slats, landing gear and brakes. Airbus backs up the flight controls with electrically powered actuators (devices that convert electrical signals into mechanical movement), which gives the type a layer of redundancy beyond hydraulics.

Gear doors that stay open after touchdown often indicate the crew lowered the landing gear by gravity — an alternate extension method pilots use when normal hydraulic power for the gear is unavailable. The report, however, does not confirm which system failed or how the crew actually extended the gear. The cause of the hydraulic problem remains unidentified.

What does this change for Delta? In the short term, it removes one of the airline's flagship widebodies from its long-haul rotation for at least a day. A 275-seat aircraft sitting idle at Los Angeles compounds quickly: the jet covers routes such as Hong Kong and Shanghai, where substitution capacity is thin and recovery options are limited.

What is known about N524DN

The airframe involved is young. According to Planespotters.net, N524DN is 2.2 years old and carries manufacturer serial number 680. Airbus built the jet in Toulouse, where it flew under the test registration F-WZNP. It ferried from Toulouse to Atlanta on 7 September 2024 and entered service with Delta on 20 September 2024.

The aircraft wears Delta fleet number 3524 and is configured with 275 seats: 40 Delta One, 40 Premium Select and 195 in the main cabin. Two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB turbofans power the type.

The jet has drawn attention before. N524DN previously encountered severe turbulence on approach to Sydney while operating DL41 from Los Angeles. Four flight attendants reported injuries in that event, although inspections found no lasting structural damage, AeroXplorer reported.

A second hydraulic event on the fleet

This is also not the first hydraulic incident on Delta's A350 fleet in recent months. In November 2025, another A350-900 operating DL388 from Shanghai to Detroit diverted to Tokyo Haneda after a hydraulic problem arose at cruise, according to the Aviation Safety Network and FlyMag.

Two events do not make a trend, and hydraulic diversions occur across every widebody fleet. But the timing will draw attention from Delta's technical operations teams, since both events involve aircraft flying the same Asia–US mission profile. Until investigators or the airline identify the cause in Los Angeles, the question of whether these incidents share a mechanism remains open.