"There was something unusual going on:" Milwaukee bound flight forced to land in Denver
DENVER (WITI) — Some concerning moments for passengers on board a flight headed to Milwaukee when their plane had to make an emergency landing in Denver on Friday night, April 24th.
Officials say the Southwest Airlines flight #100 was traveling from Las Vegas to Milwaukee and was diverted to Denver after reporting "pressurization issues."
Marilyn Biddle and other passengers on board were taken on quite the ride during their trip.
"He brought the plane down at a quick rate from about 35,000 feet down to 14,000 feet in just a couple minutes," said Biddle.
"I think everybody figured out there was something unusual going on," said Owen May, passenger.
With 175 passengers and 6 crew members on board, some felt the affects immediately.
"About an hour out of Las Vegas my ears popped to the point they don't usually pop like real ice picks in my ears. I noticed the pilot was dropping altitude fairly rapidly substantially," said May.
Passengers say the pilot got on the loud speaker to quell any fears.
"The pilot said at no time was the airplane ever in jeopardy. All the instruments and everything was working perfect, just that cabin pressure dropped and he needed to bring the plane down to about 1,400 feet," said Biddle.
But for some coming that close to the mountains in Denver wasn't too bad.
"We got a good view, you usually don't see it like that when flying from Vegas to Milwaukee," said May.
Overall, folks said they all remained even-tempered with all things considered, but were still thankful the ordeal came to a safe end.
"Everybody was pretty calm and applauded when we made a safe landing and congratulated the pilot and said job well done," said Biddle.
A spokesperson for Southwest Airlines said about two hours after landing in Denver, the passengers were placed on another aircraft and flew to Milwaukee.
The initial Boeing 737 -800 aircraft they were on was taken out of service and inspected. There was one passenger who suffered a slip and fall while deplaning and was transported by ambulance for additional treatment.