Caption: Terrifying moment plane plummets 15,000 feet in three minutes (Pictures: AP/Harrison Hove)
An airplane dropped more than 15,000 feet in a matter of minutes, giving passengers the scare of their lives.
Oxygen masks were unleashed as the American Airlines plane suddenly dropped almost 20,000 feet in 11 minutes, according to FlightAware.
A passenger who took photos documenting the scene inside American Airlines flight 5916 tweeted that ‘something failed midflight and depressurized the cabin’.
‘The burning smell can apparently be attributed to using the oxygen canisters,’ wrote the passenger, Harrison Hove, on Thursday.
Oxygen masks were deployed during the incident (Picture: Twitter/@Harrisonhove)
‘The wing flaps came out to immediately lower our altitude so there would be more oxygen.
‘It was terrifying but turned out ok.’
The descent started 39 minutes after the plane, traveling from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Gainesville, Florida, took off. It took place over two hours and eight minutes. The biggest drop during the flight occurred about 42 minutes and lasted six minutes. Overall, the plane dropped 18,600 feet.
An American Airlines spokesperson confirmed to FOX Business that crew ‘received an indication of a possible pressurization issue and immediately and safely descended to a lower altitude.
An American Airlines spokesperson said the crew ‘received an indication of a possible pressurization issue’ (Picture: AP)
‘We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience and thank our team for their professionalism,’ the spokesperson said.
Hove, who is a University of Florida journalism and communications professor, added that his photos including a selfie with an oxygen canister on, ‘cannot capture the burning smell, loud bang or ear pops’.
The plane landed safely shortly before 5pm at Gainesville Regional Airport.
‘I’ve flown a lot. This was scary. Kudos to our amazing flight crew- cabin staff and pilots on @AmericanAir 5916,’ Hove wrote. ‘Good to be on the ground.’
American Airlines on Twitter replied to Hove: ‘We’re so our #AATeam took such great care of you during that scary time! We’ll send them some kudos in recognition of a job well done.’
Hove then replied, ‘please do’, and elaborated on the crew’s actions.
‘They were cool under pressure. The FA in the cabin was exceptional today,’ wrote Hove. ‘There were at least 4 crew members deadheading as well and one pilot in 15B kept those of us in the back informed and calm.
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An American Airlines plane traveling from Charlotte to Gainesville descended 18,600 feet unexpectedly.