SWA captain tells PAXs "We're going down!"
11-14-2013, 04:39 AM
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SWA captain tells PAXs "We're going down!"
RDU-bound plane plummets in mid-air
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
RDU-bound plane plummets in mid-air
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RALEIGH-DURHAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, N.C. (WTVD) -- The pilot of a Southwest Airlines flight headed to RDU went on the loudspeaker and told passengers their plane was going down, according to a woman on board the flight.
"He said, we're going down. And everyone is looking around like, is this a joke? Is he serious? And then you felt the nosedive," passenger Shelley Wills said.
Wills told ABC11 the Tuesday night flight from Tampa took a nosedive thousands of feet in the air while they were about 100 miles away from RDU.
Wills is a nurse and tried helping the first-time flier seated next to her who was clutching her chest.
"I'm thinking oh my God, she's going to scare herself into a heart attack," Wills said.
She said people all around her pulled out their cell phones in a desperate attempt to reach their loved ones. She texted her daughter and her husband, but the messages did not go through.
"It says I love you Alyssa. My plane is going down," she read. "I thought I was going to die and that's what everyone on that plane thought. That we were all going to die, just by one word of the captain. I just think they could have handled it a little differently."
Minutes after the plane dropped, Wills said the Boeing 737 leveled out and went on to make an emergency landing at RDU.
"And the last words were thank you for hanging with us," Wills said.
Southwest Airlines issued this statement regarding the incident:
"Flight 3426 experienced a maintenance alert as they were on descent into RDU. The Captain declared an emergency and descended the aircraft to 25,000 feet where the alert was resolved. Throughout the remainder of the descent the flight was normal, landed uneventfully, and was not met by emergency vehicles."
- Michelle Agnew - Southwest Airlines communication specialist
ABC11 has learned that the maintenance alert went off due to irregular cabin pressure. The FAA is now investigating.
According to FlightStats, WN Flight-3426 arrived at RDU two minutes ahead of schedule at 6:08pm. The plane went on to BWI at 7:32 p.m., 66 minutes behind schedule.
There have been a total of 72 crashes involving Boeing 737-700 out of over 175 million flights. This statistic makes the Boeing 737 one of the safest planes ever made.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
RDU-bound plane plummets in mid-air
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TAGS:north carolina news, raleigh durham airport, wake county news, local/state, heather waliga
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ShareThis via email, AIM, social bookmarking and networking sites, etc.
Heather Waliga
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RALEIGH-DURHAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, N.C. (WTVD) -- The pilot of a Southwest Airlines flight headed to RDU went on the loudspeaker and told passengers their plane was going down, according to a woman on board the flight.
"He said, we're going down. And everyone is looking around like, is this a joke? Is he serious? And then you felt the nosedive," passenger Shelley Wills said.
Wills told ABC11 the Tuesday night flight from Tampa took a nosedive thousands of feet in the air while they were about 100 miles away from RDU.
Wills is a nurse and tried helping the first-time flier seated next to her who was clutching her chest.
"I'm thinking oh my God, she's going to scare herself into a heart attack," Wills said.
She said people all around her pulled out their cell phones in a desperate attempt to reach their loved ones. She texted her daughter and her husband, but the messages did not go through.
"It says I love you Alyssa. My plane is going down," she read. "I thought I was going to die and that's what everyone on that plane thought. That we were all going to die, just by one word of the captain. I just think they could have handled it a little differently."
Minutes after the plane dropped, Wills said the Boeing 737 leveled out and went on to make an emergency landing at RDU.
"And the last words were thank you for hanging with us," Wills said.
Southwest Airlines issued this statement regarding the incident:
"Flight 3426 experienced a maintenance alert as they were on descent into RDU. The Captain declared an emergency and descended the aircraft to 25,000 feet where the alert was resolved. Throughout the remainder of the descent the flight was normal, landed uneventfully, and was not met by emergency vehicles."
- Michelle Agnew - Southwest Airlines communication specialist
ABC11 has learned that the maintenance alert went off due to irregular cabin pressure. The FAA is now investigating.
According to FlightStats, WN Flight-3426 arrived at RDU two minutes ahead of schedule at 6:08pm. The plane went on to BWI at 7:32 p.m., 66 minutes behind schedule.
There have been a total of 72 crashes involving Boeing 737-700 out of over 175 million flights. This statistic makes the Boeing 737 one of the safest planes ever made.
11-14-2013, 09:15 AM
#2
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HAHA. Probably just expedited the descent down to 25,000 and she is trying to make a mountain of a molehill and get $$.
I can't see any pilot being so unprofessional as to say "we're going down". That shouldn't even be what he's thinking in an incident.
I can't see any pilot being so unprofessional as to say "we're going down". That shouldn't even be what he's thinking in an incident.
11-14-2013, 12:40 PM
#4
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According to CNN it does sound like he made an accidental PA while trying to talk to the FA. A little selective recall on the part of the plaintif... er pax:
"We're going down [to ten thousand]"
"We're going down [to ten thousand]"
11-15-2013, 04:15 AM
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Posts: 1,026
Let’s see; PIC followed procedures and rapidly descended the plane as dictated by the circumstances.
Some PAX freak out due to pilots announcement and sudden descent. However, still have plenty of time to hit the cell phones to send txt msgs and try to make calls (now a common knee-jerk reaction).
PAX: I got scared from an announcement, my plane descended suddenly, and now I must be compensated! Are you kidding me? Nope. That is the nature of our litigious society. If I am even a bit disturbed from my normal state of complacency and unawareness of my surroundings, I must be due a reward of compensation.
Myself: I would be pretty satisfied that the flight deck followed procedures and kept my butt safe. I would be glad to endure a little odd/scary announcement as long as my butt was put on the ground safely. Nothing else needed for me.
Some PAX freak out due to pilots announcement and sudden descent. However, still have plenty of time to hit the cell phones to send txt msgs and try to make calls (now a common knee-jerk reaction).
PAX: I got scared from an announcement, my plane descended suddenly, and now I must be compensated! Are you kidding me? Nope. That is the nature of our litigious society. If I am even a bit disturbed from my normal state of complacency and unawareness of my surroundings, I must be due a reward of compensation.
Myself: I would be pretty satisfied that the flight deck followed procedures and kept my butt safe. I would be glad to endure a little odd/scary announcement as long as my butt was put on the ground safely. Nothing else needed for me.
11-15-2013, 05:48 AM
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Posts: 1,026
Matching this situation to the ingrained response driven into the public mind from observing the legal system, some questions to ponder:
Should PAX on this flight truly be due compensation through the legal system?
Because PAX got scared and felt uncomfortable in this instance, are they automatically due monetary recompense?
If proper procedures were not followed on the flight deck, should the “PAX” be granted compensation through the legal system even if no medically diagnosed personal injury occurred?
Always interesting to see the responses to these types of questions.
Should PAX on this flight truly be due compensation through the legal system?
Because PAX got scared and felt uncomfortable in this instance, are they automatically due monetary recompense?
If proper procedures were not followed on the flight deck, should the “PAX” be granted compensation through the legal system even if no medically diagnosed personal injury occurred?
Always interesting to see the responses to these types of questions.
11-15-2013, 06:43 AM
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Joined APC: Jan 2006
Position: Engines Turn Or People Swim
Posts: 39,281
Originally Posted by RhinoPherret
Matching this situation to the ingrained response driven into the public mind from observing the legal system, some questions to ponder:
Should PAX on this flight truly be due compensation through the legal system?
Because PAX got scared and felt uncomfortable in this instance, are they automatically due monetary recompense?
If proper procedures were not followed on the flight deck, should the “PAX” be granted compensation through the legal system even if no medically diagnosed personal injury occurred?
Always interesting to see the responses to these types of questions.
Should PAX on this flight truly be due compensation through the legal system?
Because PAX got scared and felt uncomfortable in this instance, are they automatically due monetary recompense?
If proper procedures were not followed on the flight deck, should the “PAX” be granted compensation through the legal system even if no medically diagnosed personal injury occurred?
Always interesting to see the responses to these types of questions.
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