Automated message falsely told all onboard ‘we will be making emergency landing on water’
The friendly skies turned terribly frightening for passengers aboard a trans-Atlantic flight.
The overnight British Airways trip from Miami to London’s Heathrow Airport was thrown into panic after a recorded message mistakenly announced their plane was about to crash in the ocean.
“We were about three hours into the flight when an automated message came over ... saying, ‘This is an emergency. We will shortly be making an emergency landing on water,’†passenger Duncan Farquharson told the London Daily Mail.
Farquharson, traveling with his wife Tracey, immediately braced for the worst — as did many of his fellow passengers aboard the Saturday flight.
“We looked at each other and figured we were both about to die,†he told the British paper. “Families with children were distraught and people were in tears. It was very distressing.â€
Thirty seconds later, a crew member casually announced that the prerecorded announcement was played accidentally and there was no risk.
Farquharson said the tone of the apology at 35,000 feet hardly reflected the terror caused by the 3 a.m. announcement.
“Imagining yourself plunging toward a cold, watery grave in the middle of the Atlantic is a pretty horrific thought,†said the London resident. “But they seemed pretty blase about it.â€
The plane landed without incident Saturday, and British Airways issued an immediate apology to the customers.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/passengers-british-airways-flight-terrified-message-warns-crash-landing-article-1.1007868#ixzz1kEZFss00
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