A six-foot hole was somehow ripped in the side of the plane just five rows behind where Redden sat, and the frightened passenger said the resulting loss of cabin pressure was “hands down the scariest experience of my life.”
Redden gave eyewitness accounts of the experience on her Twitter account, @BluestMuse, and used Twitpic to relay images of the damaged plane and air masks and communicate with journalists about the flight and the passengers.
Just after 4 p.m., the emergency aboard Southwest flight 812 from Phoenix to Sacramento began. The cabin lost pressure, and air masks dropped from the plane’s overhead compartments. The pilot was forced to make an emergency landing in Yuma, Arizona.
Of the ordeal, Redden noted that passengers heard an “explosion sound, then a rush of air. Masks dropped, and a woman screamed. Everyone else was calm. Pilot landed safely.” While Redden said the noise of the ripped-open plane was “super loud,” she lauded the flight crew, who “stayed calm and checked on everyone.”
According to Redden and confirmations from authorities, no passengers were harmed (although Redden said two fainted), and one flight attendant was slightly injured during the landing.
Yuma International Airport director Craig Williams told the Associated Press these types of emergency landings are “rare but not unheard of.”
Williams said the flight ended in an uneventful landing in Yuma, where passengers waited for an hour or less for another plane to get them back in the air. “The passengers are all fine … keep dinner warm, they’re been there as soon as we can get them there,” Williams said.
Overall, Southwest received a couple complimentary men tions of the crew and...
