Passengers on an American Airlines (AA) flight had a nightmarish experience last Thursday, when their plane lost over 15,000 feet altitude (nearly 4,600 metres) in three minutes.
The incident occurred during a routine flight from Charlotte, North Carolina (CLT) to Florida on Thursday 10 August 2023. About 43 minutes into the journey, the crew detected a potential cabin pressure issue, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) representative who spoke to FOX 35 News revealed. The plane therefore descended to a lower altitude.
1. Oxygen masks and burning smells
FlightAware, a real-time flight tracking and prediction service, shared data that confirmed the aircraft made a rapid descent of 18,600 feet (over 5,600m) in under six minutes. That means the passengers were hurtling towards the ground at 56 km per hour.
Somehow the crew managed to ensure everyone aboard remained “informed and calm”, said University of Florida professor, Harrison Hove, who was among the passengers. Photos he shared on social media site “X” revealed that oxygen masks were deployed.
What the images couldn’t convey, he explained, was just how visceral the experience was, as a burning smell filled the cabin, loud bangs were heard and passengers experienced ear problems.
“I’ve flown a lot. This was scary,” Hove wrote, adding: “The photos cannot capture the burning smell, loud bang or ear pops. Good to be on the ground.”
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.
Harrison Hove, passenger
2. Explosive, rapid or gradual
Decompression incidents are not uncommon in aviation, according to an article published in Aviation Medical Society of Australia and New Zealand in 2000.
Incidents are classified in three tiers: explosive; rapid; and slow or gradual. The passengers’ ears popping indicates that the incident was probably a ‘rapid’ one: slow enough to allow bodily cavities to vent but fast enough to cause “barotrauma” or discomfort. About 40 to 50 rapid decompression events occur worldwide annually, researchers found.
Explosive and slow decompression are more problematic, causing either forces as strong as a bomb detonation, or an undetectable lack of oxygen that causes loss of consciousness.
In actions films and fiction, decompression is often misrepresented. A single bullet, for example, has been proven not to cause catastrophic decompression, since aircraft are designed with latitudinal and longitudinal ribbing to protect them.
3. Safe landing
The plane landed safely just before 5pm (local time) at Gainesville Regional Airport (GNV) according to a statement from the airline, which praised the crew of the so-called “American Eagle” regional flight 5916, operated by AA subsidiary Piedmont: “We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience and thank our team for their professionalism.”
American Eagle operations involve a network of 3,400 AA and subsidiary-run flights a day to 240 airports across North America.
