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American Airlines Flight Plummets 20,000 Feet in 'Terrifying' Incident: 'Burning Smell, Loud Bang' The plane took off from Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday afternoon.

By Emily Rella

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Fear struck passengers on an American Airlines flight from Charlotte, North Carolina to Gainesville, Florida last Thursday after "a possible pressurization issue" caused the plane to drop nearly 20,000 feet in 11 minutes, with the initial drop plummeting 15,000 feet in just three minutes.

One passenger, Harrison Howe, documented the incident through a series of photos on X, talking about the "scary" incident.

"The photos cannot capture the burning smell, loud bang or ear pops," Howe wrote, thanking the crew for their calmness under pressure. "Good to be on the ground."

According to Flight Aware, the biggest flight drop took place about 42 minutes after take-off when the plane dropped to 18,600 feet from cruising altitude.

Related: Airline Cancels Teen's Ticket After Being Caught 'Skiplagging'

The flight landed 38 minutes late just before 5 p.m. on Thursday and no injuries were reported.

In a follow-up post, Howe told a concerned X user that "something failed mid-flight" and that the drop in altitude was in an attempt to get more oxygen for the passengers.

American Airlines confirmed the scary incident occurred on an American Eagle flight (the regional airline branch for American Airlines) that was operated by Maryland-based Piedmont Airlines.

American said that what had happened was due to a "possible pressurization issue" and that the descent in altitude was managed "safely."

"American Eagle flight 5916, operated by Piedmont Airlines, from Charlotte (CLT) to Gainesville, Florida (GNV) landed safely in GNV on Thursday, August 10," the airline told FOX Business in a statement. "While inflight, the crew received an indication of a possible pressurization 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."

Related: American Airlines Sued After Teen Dies Mid-Flight

American Airlines did not immediately respond to Entrepreneur's request for comment.

Following the devastating wildfires in Maui, the airline has been sending bigger vessels to the island to help evacuate more residents to safety. It's also offering free flight changes for any passenger booked on a flight to or through Maui.

American Airlines was up just over 3.3% in a one-year period as of Monday afternoon.

Emily Rella

Senior News Writer

Emily Rella is a Senior News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was an editor at Verizon Media. Her coverage spans features, business, lifestyle, tech, entertainment, and lifestyle. She is a 2015 graduate of Boston College and a Ridgefield, CT native. Find her on Twitter at @EmilyKRella.

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