Scare in the Air: Plane Out of O'Hare Forced into Emergency Landing

posted April 22, 12:30 p.m.; updated April 23

A plane carrying 75 passengers left O’Hare International Airport Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m. for Bradley Airport in Connecticut but was forced into an emergency landing — descending 28,000 feet in just five minutes — because the pilots feared the cabin lost pressure mid-flight.

As the pilot put the plane into a steep descent over Lake Erie, many aboard the plane put their heads down and prayed, according to passengers. SkyWest Flight 5622 landed safely in Buffalo, NY, shortly after 11:30 a.m. Central time.

“... that rapid descent was incredibly scary. It really felt that we were diving down uncontrollably.”

~ Vanessa Bergmann, passenger aboard Flight 5622

When a passenger became ill and passed out, the pilot thought there might be a cabin-pressure problem. The pilot descended “out of an abundance of caution,” said a SkyWest spokeswoman, but the experience terrified passengers.

At least two more passengers passed out but it’s not clear when that occurred.

“We were all told to just keep breathing and as we were told to keep breathing, we suddenly went into a nose dive,” passenger Vanessa Bergmann told NBC News. “And that rapid descent was incredibly scary. It really felt that we were diving down uncontrollably.”

A trauma nurse from Niantic, CT, who was on board offered her assistance to the crew to aid the first stricken passenger.

“The passenger was lethargic. She was responding but her color was off. She didn’t look good. We got her some oxygen. She was much more alert after getting the oxygen,” Mary Cunningham told NBC Connecticut. “Then I went back to my seat when she was feeling better and all of a sudden the woman sitting behind her passed out, unresponsive. It was multiple people affected.

“The flight attendant and myself started not feeling very well while we were in the middle of the flight helping out. I had to sit down. I was short-of-breath, light-headed (and) didn’t feel great.”

WIVB.com in western New York reports that a dozen passengers reported feeling nauseous and light-headed, according to Daniel J. Neaverth, Jr., commissioner of the Department of Erie County Emergency Services, but no cockpit lights went off indicating a pressure drop in the cabin.

Those people received medical evaluations after landing. One person received medical treatment, according to the airline.

After the plane landed, ABC, NBC and other news outlets were reporting that the main passenger door had opened in mid-flight due to a mechanical malfunction. This proved not to be the case, according to the FAA.

In a statement, the FAA said the pilot reported a pressurization problem and prepared for an emergency landing. The plane, an Embraer E170 narrow-body jet operating as United Express Flight 5622, passed over Michigan and made its rapid descent over Lake Erie to land at Buffalo Niagara International Airport.

This flight-track log posted on FlightAware.com, a live flight tracking website, depicts the plane’s rate of descent from 37,000 feet. An airline spokeswoman said such a rapid descent is a standard procedure when a plane loses pressure because the oxygen content of the air is richer at lower altitudes.

SkyWest spokeswoman Marissa Snow said the oxygen masks did not release, which would typically happen if the cabin lost pressure.

SkyWest, headquartered in Utah, flies about 1,700 flights each day and is partnered with several major airlines, including United, Delta and American airlines.

In a recent survey of airline quality conducted by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, SkyWest ranked third-worst among carriers for service. Last month, Forbes magazine ranked SkyWest as one of the best employers in the airline industry.

flight path via flightradar24

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