American Airlines Flight 5916 from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Gainesville, Florida, reportedly descended rapidly from 30,000 feet to a more pressure-friendly altitude. Reports vary as to how fast the descent was, but it certainly got the attention of the 50 passengers on board the Embraer ERJ-145.
In an official statement, American Airlines wrote, “American Eagle Flight 5916, operated by Piedmont Airlines, from Charlotte (CLT) to Gainesville, Florida, (GNV) landed safely in GNV on Thursday, August 10. While enroute, the crew received an indication of a possible pressurization issue and immediately and safely descended to a lower altitude. We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience and thank our team for their professionalism.” Based on data from FlightAware, the descent began at about 40 minutes into the roughly two-hour, 30-minute flight, which also appeared to circumvent a line of convective activity. The crew continued to the destination airport and landed uneventfully with no injuries to anyone on board.
According to a story that first appeared on Fortune.com, one passenger reported on X, formerly known as Twitter, that tensions were high during the descent. Harrison Hove wrote, “I’ve flown a lot. This was scary. Kudos to our amazing flight crew—cabin staff and pilots … The photos cannot capture the burning smell, loud bang or ear pops.”
