'It was really horrifying', passenger on Flight 5406 speaks out following emergency evacuation at AGS
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – We're learning new details following an incident yesterday at Augusta Regional Airport.
Several passengers were forced to evacuate a flight after a haze was seen in the cabin—now one of them is speaking out.
American Eagle Flight 5406 flew into Augusta Tuesday morning from Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
But, passengers weren't expecting what happened as soon as they landed.
'That was really horrifying, terrible, and scary,' said Sean O'Conor.
Video taken by O'Conor shows dozens being evacuated after passengers noticed a haze in the cabin.
'We were heading towards the terminal, and then we saw the smoke. The pilot then came on and said, 'Evacuate now!' We all jumped out of our seats, but there was no direction from the flight attendants or the pilot. We just kind of knew what to do—get out of this plane as quick as you can,' said O'Conor.
No passengers were harmed, but O'Conor says he and others were not satisfied with the way American Airlines handled the situation.
'Just a little disappointed with American Airlines. There were no representatives, nobody's reached out. Nobody at the terminal, no explanation, no apologies, no compensation,' O'Conor said.
We reached out to American Airlines to get that explanation.
In a statement, they say the evacuation was required because the plane experienced a maintenance issue shortly after landing.
'I noticed a light haze coming into the cabin, and I could smell it was electrical—I'm an engineer, so I recognized the smell immediately,' said O'Conor. 'We climbed out of the window onto the wing of the plane, and made our way down to the end of the wing of the plane. Then we dropped down onto the tarmac and moved away from the plane.'
He says despite this incident, he still feels safe to continue traveling in the air.
'I think it's still a safe way to travel, but I think they need to step up their maintenance because obviously something was going on with this jet. Maybe it was an older model. I don't know what happened, but I still feel safe,' O'Conor added.
With thousands expected to fly into the Augusta area over the next few days, American Airlines and Augusta Regional Airport say customer safety is their top priority.
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