logo
'It was really horrifying', passenger on Flight 5406 speaks out following emergency evacuation at AGS

'It was really horrifying', passenger on Flight 5406 speaks out following emergency evacuation at AGS

Yahoo03-04-2025

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.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

JENNIE: It's OK to be Different Day celebrates children with autism and their parents
JENNIE: It's OK to be Different Day celebrates children with autism and their parents

Yahoo

time15 hours ago

  • Yahoo

JENNIE: It's OK to be Different Day celebrates children with autism and their parents

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) — The inaugural 'It's Okay To Be Different Day' event is coming up June 21st. The day is also about Autism and Downs Syndrome Awareness. Vivian Butler is the owner of Kings and Queens Christian Academy, which is a daycare that serves special needs children. The event is her brainchild! Shaun Harris is a special needs teacher and founder of B Mighty Enterprises. Vivian Butler: Well, Jennie, I was sitting in my office at a daycare, and I've noticed a lot of my babies come in and they have special need problems. And with that being said, dealing with my granddaughter, also this has special needs. She's autistic. The Lord gave me, is okay to be different and allow these babies to be just who they are. A lot of them come in non-verbal and the Lord told me to look into their eyes and speak to their soul and pull out their voice. You know, a lot of times people talk about autism and they do 'autistic' things for the for the people. But it's never involving the children. I know, we do the autistic this, we do the autistic that. But we never include the child. This particular event, the Lord said include the babies. Don't leave them out because it's okay for them to be different. I called my son-in-law, Raymond Webber, and said, 'Son, this is what the Lord told me to do' and with that being said, he told me that we can use his gym, MTAG.' The day will include bouncy houses and face painting, the fire department is going to bring the fire trucks, and there will be lots of volunteers so the children can play and their parents won't worry. Shaun Harris: 'They can stand, they can run, they can jump — Whatever they want to do and have a good time. But also, this will also give the parents an opportunity to see how to interact in a different way, because sometimes they get burned out and they don't know. They get frustrated. So when they see someone, you know, reaching out or interacting with their child in a different way, I've learned that the parents learn from me.' Vivian Butler: 'We're looking forward to this day. We're so excited. The parents can get facials. They're going to have a private chef on the inside. The children are going to have food on the outside. We're going to have grills going. We've got a special deejay coming for them. So we're going to put our boots on the ground and we're going to make it happen.' Shaun Harris: 'We're grateful they are because they are – I always say that they are the magic. So to me, they are just the essence of love. And they're just what makes my heart beat. And all the things that are happening in this world, when there's sadness, a sickness, or devastation, those kids, when I look into their faces, everything is okay, even if it's just for a moment.' Once again, the inaugural 'It's Okay To Be Different Day' is coming up on Saturday, June 21st from1PM – 5PM. It's open to the public and it's going to be at 1610 Hunter Street in Augusta. For more information, call 706-836-8598. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

What Would Actually Happen If You Tried to Open the Airplane Emergency Door Mid-flight?
What Would Actually Happen If You Tried to Open the Airplane Emergency Door Mid-flight?

Travel + Leisure

time2 days ago

  • Travel + Leisure

What Would Actually Happen If You Tried to Open the Airplane Emergency Door Mid-flight?

The most important thing in the exit row on a plane isn't the extra legroom—it's the emergency door. These doors are strategically located throughout the aircraft so that passengers can easily evacuate, regardless of whether they're in first class or the last row. The Airbus A380—the world's largest commercial aircraft—has 16 emergency doors. That's approximately one for every 50 passengers. While part of the flight attendant safety speech includes pointing out where the nearest emergency doors can be found, it doesn't include the answer to one burning question. What happens if you try to open the emergency door mid-flight? If you ask American Airlines First Officer Steve Scheibner, nothing would happen if you tried to open the door—because you can't open the emergency door mid-flight. Unless you're capable of lifting 25,000 pounds, it's physically impossible. 'Once this door gets pressurized in flight, it's nine pounds per square inch,' says Scheibner, who goes by Captain Steeeve on TikTok where he has more than 380,000 followers. Another pilot-turned-social media sensation explains it further on YouTube: 'We pressurize our aircraft to a lower altitude so that you guys can breathe,' says Pilot PascalKlr. 'The inside pressure pushes the door in its frame.' Scientists liken it to how a drain plug works. Given the small size of sink and bath drains, it takes a substantial amount of effort to pick them up. Also, most emergency exit doors on planes open inwards. Still, physics isn't the only thing keeping emergency doors closed during flights. On most commercial aircraft, all cabin doors automatically lock once the plane has reached a certain speed. According to Scheibner, it's approximately 80 knots (92 miles per hour). They can't be manually unlocked until the plane slows down again. Obviously, these locks weren't customary back in 1971 when the infamous 'D.B. Cooper' parachuted out of a Boeing 727's rear door with $200,000 in cash somewhere over southeastern Washington. In fact, because hijacking passenger planes was common in the late '60s and early '70s, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) amended their safety regulations in 1972 and started requiring large passenger aircraft exits to be designed so that they can't be opened during flight. Exit sign in an airplane. Margot Cavin/Travel + Leisure Even though it's not possible to open an emergency door mid-flight, people have tried. In fact, every year passengers make headlines for trying to do so. A few weeks ago, an All Nippon Airways flight from Tokyo to Houston was diverted to Seattle after an unruly passenger kept trying to open the emergency doors. Cabin crew and fellow passengers managed to restrain him using zip ties. Upon landing in Seattle, the passenger was handed over to the local police and FBI. And when an American Airlines passenger on a flight from Albuquerque to Chicago tried to open an emergency door 20 minutes into their flight last year, the plane returned to Albuquerque where law enforcement was waiting. If the plane isn't far from its final destination, it will usually try to land there. That's what happened on another American Airlines flight in 2024 when a passenger flying from Milwaukee to Dallas attempted to open an emergency door mid-flight. A flight attendant was injured in the process, and the man was charged with a federal crime. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. At the very least, trying to open an emergency door mid-flight is a great way to get yourself on the dreaded no-fly list. While most passengers who try to open emergency doors fail, at least one appears to have succeeded. In 2023, a passenger on an Asiana flight about to land in Daegu, South Korea allegedly opened the emergency door he was sitting next to. The plane was more than 700 feet off the ground at the time. While the plane was able to safely land, and no one was seriously injured, 12 people went to the hospital and were treated for hyperventilation. 'The wind was stinging my legs and hitting my face so hard I couldn't even breathe properly,' the passenger sitting next to him recalled in an interview with CNN. Asiana immediately launched an investigation to see how the door was able to be opened. It also issued a statement saying it would stop selling certain exit row seats on its Airbus A321-200 aircraft. But this doesn't exactly mean that sitting next to an emergency door is dangerous. On the contrary, some experts say the exit row boasts the safest seats on the plane. 'If there was a seat that was safer, being close to an emergency exit increases the chance of getting out quicker,' Cary Grant, an assistant professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's College of Aviation, previously told T+L.

After an American Airlines plane caught fire, the National Transportation Safety Board finds engine parts installed backward
After an American Airlines plane caught fire, the National Transportation Safety Board finds engine parts installed backward

Yahoo

time5 days ago

  • Yahoo

After an American Airlines plane caught fire, the National Transportation Safety Board finds engine parts installed backward

On March 13, an American Airlines flight was diverted from its destination after the flight crew reported engine vibrations, and its engine caught fire once it landed. The National Transportation Safety Board said in a report this week the engine leaked fuel because of loose and improperly installed parts. Despite numerous reported aviation safety incidents, air travel is safer than it was decades ago, experts say. An American Airlines engine that burst into flames after its aircraft was diverted in March was found to have fuel leaks and improperly installed parts, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report released Thursday. The NTSB identified a damaged fan blade on the right side of the two-engine jet, as well as a loose airflow control component that was installed backward and a loose rod end that caused fuel to leak from the fitting. The report did not give a reason for the fire, as the NTSB has not yet finished its investigation on the incident. The purpose of the document is to find the root cause of the incident, not assign blame for it. On March 13, Flight 1006 en route from the Colorado Springs Airport to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport diverted to Denver International Airport after the flight crew reported engine vibrations. The Boeing 737-823 aircraft caught fire while taxiing to the gate, incurring 'substantial damage,' according to the report. 'They thought they had what we would call the degraded engine,' Cary Grant, an associate professor of aeronautical science at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University, told Fortune. 'It wasn't performing. It wasn't a failed engine, but it wasn't providing all the thrust and capability that it could produce.' The jet was carrying two flight crew members, four cabin crew members, and 172 passengers, 12 of whom were hospitalized for minor injuries. According to the report, gate ramp personnel extinguished the fire on the right side of the plane one minute after it began. Passengers evacuated the aircraft onto the left overwing and a slide from the jet's right door. NTSB's photos of the evacuated aircraft show burn marks and damage from the jet's right wing, main landing gear, and landing gear wheel well. 'The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority, and we are cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation of American Airlines flight 1006,' an American Airlines spokesperson told Fortune in a statement. The March flight diversion was one of several highly scrutinized aviation safety incidents early in the year. In January, an American Airlines jet collided with an Army helicopter in Washington, D.C., killing 67 people. Later that month, a small, private plane crashed in Northeast Philadelphia, resulting in multiple deaths. Most recently, Newark Liberty International Airport experienced a series of radio outages, which resulted in a slew of flight delays and cancellations. These incidents can have financial repercussions for airlines. American Airlines reported in its first-quarter earnings challenges to resuscitate its corporate travel business as a result of 'economic uncertainty that pressured domestic leisure demand and the tragic accident of American Eagle Flight 5342,' referring to the January incident. Despite the multiple safety blunders, aviation experts maintain it is still safe to fly. Boeing—though it has struggled in the past couple of years with safety concerns—reported a significant decline in fatalities in 2024, saying there has been a 40% decline in total accident rates and 65% decline in fatal accident rates in the past 20 years, while the number of flights has increased 20% in that same time period. Grant said the engine issues with Flight 1006 are rare, speaking to the dependability of its CFM56-7B engine. 'The engine is extremely reliable,' he said. 'The fact that we don't see situations like this occurring frequently is testament to the reliability of the motors. It's an extremely reliable part.' He maintains the flight crew did what was 'reasonably expected' of them, given the information they had at the time—especially since they had to evacuate passengers from the jet when it was taxiing at a gate, a situation that usually necessitates deplaning procedures. Combined with statistics that aviation accidents have actually decreased, the rarity of the engine degradation points to the continued security of air travel, Grant said. 'If we go back and look from the '50s on to where we're at today, the accident trend is very, very small compared to the hundreds of thousands, millions of hours of flight time that are being flown every year,' he said. 'The data does not support that air travel is riskier. It's actually just the opposite.' This story was originally featured on

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store