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.
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. #AA5916 #CLT #GNV pic.twitter.com/P8pPrvOQDQ
— Harrison Hove (@HarrisonHove) August 10, 2023
"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.
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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.
Something failed midflight and depressurized the cabin. The burning smell can apparently be attributed to using the oxygen canisters. The wing flaps came out to immediately lower our altitude so there would be more oxygen. It was terrifying but turned out ok.
— Harrison Hove (@HarrisonHove) August 10, 2023
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."
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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.
