“Terrifying” Experience For Passengers As US Plane Drops 15,000 Feet In 3 Minutes

The flight dropped almost 20,000 feet within 11 minutes.

In a shocking incident, a Florida-bound plane of American Airlines dropped over 15,000 feet within three minutes, as per a report in Fox News. American Airlines Flight 5916 was headed to Gainesville, Florida from Charlotte, North Carolina, in the United States. The incident shook the passengers when the plane reported a “possible pressurisation issue”. 

Harrison Hove, a passenger on the flight and a professor at the University of Florida took to social media to narrate his ordeal. He said the incident was “terrifying” and “photos cannot capture the burning smell, loud bang or ear pops”. In the pictures shared on X, oxygen masks are seen hanging in the plane with many passengers, including him, trying to breathe with its help. “I’ve flown a lot. This was scary. Kudos to our amazing flight crew- cabin staff and pilots on @AmericanAir 5916. The photos cannot capture the burning smell, loud bang or ear pops. Good to be on the ground,” he said in the caption.

As per the data shared by FlightAware, the flight dropped almost 20,000 feet within 11 minutes. The plane descended 18,600 feet in less than six minutes after 43 minutes into the journey.

In another tweet, Mr Hove said, “Something failed midflight and depressurized the cabin. The burning smell can apparently be attributed to using the oxygen canisters.”

He stated that the “wing flaps came out to immediately lower our altitude so there would be more oxygen.” He added, “It was terrifying but turned out ok.”

American Airlines said in a statement to Fox News that the crew decided to safely descend at a lower altitude because of the pressurisation issue. “American Eagle flight 5916, operated by Piedmont Airlines, from Charlotte (CLT) to Gainesville, Florida (GNV) landed safely in GNV on Thursday, August 10. While in flight, the crew received an indication of a possible pressurisation issue and immediately and safely descended to a lower altitude. We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience and thank our team for their professionalism,” a spokesperson said.