Plane Lands Safely After Pressure Loss
A chartered Boeing 737 with 130 passengers aboard en route from Baltimore to the Bahamas made an emergency landing here Saturday after pressure inside the jet suddenly dropped at 30,000 feet, airport officials said.
The captain of the Challenge International jet immediately descended to 15,000 feet so the passengers and five crew members could breathe more easily, officials said.
One crew member complained of lightheadedness. She was treated at a hospital and released.
Bart Boodee, a University of Virginia student who was aboard the plane, said the incident shocked the passengers.
“People started screaming and stuff. We all thought we were going to die,” he said.
At one point during the descent, the horizon appeared vertical, Boodee said.
Challenge International is a charter airline based in Miami. The Federal Aviation Administration was investigating the incident.
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