Delta passengers recounted a major ‘panic’ aboard a Fort Lauderdale-bound flight after their plane dropped nearly 30,000 feet in just a few minutes.
Delta Flight 2353, which was diverted to Tampa, dropped from 39,000 feet to 9,975 feet in less than eight minutes, ‘due to a possible aircraft depressurization issue,’ Delta spokesman Anthony Black said.
It landed safely in Tampa with no injuries.
"Air masks – the oxygen masks dropped – from the top of the plane. Chaos sort of ensued amongst the passengers," passenger Harris Dewoskin told Atlanta news station WSB-TV.
"It was a hectic moment so the passengers around me — a lot of people were kind of hyperventilating," Dewoskin added.
The Boeing 767-300 had departed Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.
Despite the real fear for safety, several passengers tweeted their admiration for cabin crew who handled the situation well and kept everyone relatively calm.
The plane was under inspection by technicians and passengers were transported by bus from Tampa to their intended destination of Fort Lauderdale.
