Allegiant Air flight to Sanford loses cabin pressure

Oxygen masks deploy; Plane lands safely in South Carolina

SANFORD, Fla. – An Allegiant Air flight headed to Orlando-Sanford International Airport was forced to make an emergency landing in South Carolina after a pressurization issue caused oxygen masks to drop inside the cabin.

An airline representative said Flight 683 was two hours into its trip from Michigan when the pressure issue was encountered around 7:30 p.m. Sunday. 

Flight attendants had to help passengers with oxygen masks and safety belts, officials said.

The plane landed safely at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport at 7:40 p.m. with no injuries reported, according to the airline.

Passengers say they thought the plane was going to crash.

"I thought we were just gonna go down," said passenger Alicia Clark. She and her siblings were flying home to Sanford when the plane experienced the pressure change.

"I knew something was wrong when my ears started popping and my chest locked up a little bit and the [masks] dropped from the ceiling," said Dominick Clark.

Clark says Sunday's flight was his first ever trip in a plane. He says now he's uneasy to fly again.

"I'm done with planes I think. I'll take a bus," he said.

Allegiant paid for the passengers' overnight hotel stays and added that it would refund passengers the price of the one-way route, along with a $200 travel voucher for future flights.

The rescheduled flight arrived in Sanford on Monday.


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