Government investigating why Delta passengers were kept on plane in extreme heat

The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating why passengers on a Delta Air Lines flight had been left to swelter for hours in triple-digit temperatures while the plane waited on the tarmac at a Las Vegas airport last month.

The flight, DL555, to Atlanta, was supposed to take off from Harry Reid International Airport on July 17 but instead sat on the tarmac, where the extreme heat sickened passengers.

The ordeal lasted nearly three hours, with paramedics boarding the plane to wheel out three people who had fallen ill.

Many passengers pressed their call buttons for help, but received no assistance for three hours.