WASHINGTON, April 18 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. passenger plane made an emergency landing Wednesday in Atlanta city after its engine began issuing smoke.

Delta Air Lines, the operator of the plane, confirmed the incident, saying the London-bound flight encountered "an issue with its No.2 engine" after taking off at 6 p.m. local time and returned to the ground soon after the takeoff.

"The flight ended without incident," the airline statement said.

The incident was the latest in a string of mishaps that has befallen the U.S. air industry in recent days. On Tuesday, a Boeing operated by Southwest Airlines suffered an engine explosion in mid air, killing a woman passenger.