An American Airlines flight from St. Louis to Philadelphia on Saturday turned into a terrifying ordeal for passengers who were at one point told before the flight took off that the “engines wouldn’t start,” according to NBC’s affiliate station in St. Louis, KSDK.
The ordeal at around 6 a.m. Central Time on Saturday, Oct. 17, as American Airlines Flight 5089 boarded and prepared for takeoff, according to KSDK.
“They came over the intercom and said that the engines wouldn’t start,” Olivia Clancy, a passenger on the flight, told KSDK.
After a delay that took hours, the engines were cleared and the plane refueled, according to KSDK. The plane then took, but passengers immediately noticed that something was not right.
“You could tell right away after we took off that the plane was having problems with its thrust, I guess,” Clancy said, according to KSDK. “I looked at my husband and said, ‘This is not normal.’ Then, out came the airbags.”
Another passenger, Tessa Springer, also told KSDK that she and her husband panicked and texted their children and they thought they might die on the plane.
“I’ve never experienced that before. I never want to experience it again. I just thought our kids were going to lose both their parents today,” Springer told KSDK.
Oxygen masks were deployed and passengers who spoke to KSDK said that there was smoke on the plane before it completed its emergency landing at St. Louis Lambert International Airport.
“We got out, and they just told us to run. So, we were just running … You don’t know if this plane is going to blow up,” Clancy said to KSDK.
American Airlines provided KSDK with the following statement: “American Eagle Flight 5089, operated by PSA Airlines, returned to St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) shortly after takeoff after a reported odor. The aircraft landed safely at STL and was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team. We apologize to our customers for their experience and thank our team members for their professionalism.”
Both Clancy and Springer said to KSDK that they had questions about how the situation was handled, especially since an engine issue was reported before the plane took off.
“At what point did they decide you’re checked, you’re cleared to take the air? What was wrong and what made it OK?” Springer told KSDK.
The frustration got even worse, Clancy told KSDK, after American Airlines emailed her an apology that included $12 food vouchers.
“I got an email from American Airlines that said, ‘We’re so sorry about your flight, here are four $12 food vouchers that you can use for your party at the airport if you choose to stay. (It felt like) a slap in the face,” Clancy said to KSDK.
