A Fort Lauderdale-bound Delta flight plummeted nearly 30,000 feet in under 10 minutes, leaving its passengers fearing for their lives on Sept. 18, according to multiple reports.
The flight started from the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta and was headed to Fort Lauderdale in Florida, according to The Independent.
Thirty-eight minutes into the flight, the aircraft’s altitude dropped from 38,000 feet to a little over 10,000 feet within seven minutes, according to Flight Aware. Passengers onboard the flight flew into a state of panicked frenzy as the oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling compartment of the aircraft.
The flight ended up being diverted to Tampa and landed at the Tampa International 28 minutes after the turbulence. The passengers disembarked and were transported to Fort Lauderdale by bus, according to the Independent.
Delta Airlines released a statement regarding the incident, “we apologize to our customers on flight 2353 from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale, which diverted to Tampa out of an abundance of caution and landed without an incident following a cabin pressurisation irregularly en route.”
Many passengers were texting their families about the incident. One passenger shared on social media about the incident, according to The Independent.
“God Bless the Captain and crew. Had an emergency midair from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale. Oxygen masks deployed and we descended.” the passenger wrote. “I texted my wife and dad I loved them. Told my mom I love her and hugged my son,” the passenger, J.T. wrote.
Harris Dewoskin, another passenger aboard the flight, talked about the incident, according to WSB-TV 2 Atlanta.
“Air masks, the oxygen masks dropped from the top of the plane,” Dewoskin said. “Chaos sort of ensued amongst the passengers.”
WSB reported that the flight attendant tried to calm the passengers down and prevent panic, according to Dewoskin, but it did little to calm the passengers, some of whom were hyperventilating.
“One of the flight attendants, I believe, grabbed the intercom and was just repeatedly over the intercom and was stating, ‘Do not panic. Do not panic.’ but obviously, it’s a hectic moment so the passengers around me—a lot of people were kind of hyperventilating, breathing really hard,” Dewoskin said. “Life is fragile like. There was a scary 60 to 90 seconds where we really didn’t know what was going on. At 15,000 feet in the air, it’s a scary moment for sure.”
The turbulence and incident are currently under investigation by maintenance technicians.
