American Airlines Plane Drops 15,000 Feet in 3 Minutes: Passengers Describe Terrifying Experience
American Airlines Plane Drops 15,000 Feet in 3 Minutes
The information from the flight record reveals that an American Airlines plane heading to Florida experienced a sudden drop of over 15,000 feet within three minutes.
A spokesperson from the Federal Aviation Administration informed Fox 35 that American Airlines Flight 5916 was departing from Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday, en route to Gainesville, Florida. During the flight, the flight crew reported a possible pressure issue.
The plane landed at the Gainesville Regional Airport just before 5 PM.
A passenger, Harrison Ho, a professor at the University of Florida, described the incident as “terrifying” on social media.
A Florida woman was surprised to see a bear outside her door, captured by her doorbell camera. Ho tweeted, “I’ve flown a lot, but this was scary.” “Congratulations to our amazing American Air 5916 flight crew and pilots. Pictures can’t capture the smell of smoke, the loud bangs, or the sound of ears popping.”
The construction of scaffolding on tall buildings has blocked some parts of downtown Orlando Street, posing a risk of collapse.
Within 43 minutes of takeoff, the aircraft descended more than 18,600 feet within six minutes.
Ho tweeted under the handle ‘X’ (previously known as Twitter), “Something went wrong mid-flight and the cabin pressure issue was alleviated.”
“The smell of smoke can be attributed to the use of oxygen canisters. Wing flaps were extended to lower our altitude rapidly for more oxygen. It was terrifying but it worked out.”
In a statement, an American Airlines spokesperson told Fox Business that the sudden descent was due to a pressure issue.
“American Eagle Flight 5916, operated by Piedmont Airlines, safely landed in Gainesville, Florida (GNV) on Thursday, August 10, from Charlotte (CLT). During the flight, the flight crew received an indication of a potential pressurization issue and immediately descended to a lower altitude for precautionary reasons. We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience and thank our team for their professionalism.
