Many people have traveled far and wide in 2024. For many, the memories began during their journey on one of the thousands of flights that cross the world every day.
As 2024 winds down, here's a roundup of some of the craziest airline stories of the past year.
Defective door
A widely publicized incident occurred on January 5 when a connection door panel, covering an additional emergency exit that can only be operated on planes with maximum capacity, exploded on an Alaska Airlines flight at 16,000 feet.
The plane was leaving Portland, Oregon, and the panel caused a depressurization in the cabin. The pilots returned the plane safely to Portland with no serious injuries reported.
Video footage of the accident shows terrified passengers sitting as the wind blows The plane Because of the missing door. The incident prompted a lawsuit against the airline and imposed renewed scrutiny on Boeing, the plane's manufacturer.
“Boeing is responsible for what happened,” Dave Calhoun, Boeing's then-CEO, said at the time. “Whatever the specific cause of the accident, an event like this should not happen on a plane leaving one of our plants. Simply put, we must be better. Our customers deserve better.”
The tragedy was captured on video
Airplane operated Brazilian Airlines The Voepass plane crashed in the country's Sao Paulo state in August, killing everyone on board.
The fiery accident occurred in a residential area and led to the deaths of more than 60 passengers and crew. The plane took off from Cascavel, Brazilin the state of Paraná.
This image from a video shows fire coming from a plane that crashed near a house in Vinhedo, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, Friday, August 9, 2024. (Felipe Magalhaes Filho via AP)
Footage taken seconds before the plane crash shows the plane drifting vertically downward and spiraling as it falls to the ground.
Aviation experts speculated at the time that the ATR 72-500 twin-turboprop aircraft stalled in midair.
What is that smell?
In December, passengers on an American Airlines flight from Dallas, Texas, to Minneapolis, Minnesota, faced an unexpected surprise after leaking toilet water reached the cabin aisle.
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It was not possible to turn off the water, and the leak crept into the cabin during rounding Three hour flight.
Passengers were seen lifting their bags to avoid what passenger Hilary Stewart-Blazevic described as the “disgusting” liquid, while some tried to move past it. Water.
Wing damage
A United Airlines passenger The wing of a Boeing 757 was filmed “breaking off” shortly before a flight from San Francisco to Boston in February was diverted to Denver due to the incident.
Kevin Clark captured video showing damage to the plane's wing, which eventually prompted the flight to make an emergency landing in Denver to evaluate the problem. He said at the time that shortly after take-off, he experienced “the most violent shaking and shaking” before falling back to sleep.
“A pilot came walking down the aisle and went after me,” Clark Lawrence Jones said on “Fox & Friends.”
“I looked out the window, got back into the cockpit and went into the PA system and said, ‘We're going to be diverted to Denver.' There are some things Minor damage “To… in front of the wing.” So I immediately opened my window to look at the wing and the trailing edge of the strut was completely destroyed as you can see in the picture.
“At that point, I said, 'OK, this is not a little damage, but … the United pilot is qualified enough to get us to Denver,'” he continued. “I think we're on our way.”
A Boeing 757-200 with 165 passengers on board landed in Denver “to address an issue with a chip” on one of its wings. The passengers were put on a different plane and arrived later in the day In Boston.
Slats are moving panels located on the leading or leading edge of the wing and are used during take-off and landing.
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Unruly rider
A few days later in 2024, an angry passenger allegedly punched a flight attendant before being escorted off the plane.
American Airlines Flight 1497 from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas to Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport in Montana was diverted mid-flight due to an unruly passenger.
The plane was forced to divert to Rick Zug Amarillo International Airport in Texas after Keith Edward Fagiana repeatedly punched a flight attendant. The incident began after another passenger complained that Faggiana was kicking his seat, according to authorities.
After a flight attendant was involved, Fagiana allegedly became angry and began punching the American Airlines employee in the stomach.
J.B. Gallagher, an elected official from Montana, Fox 4 said That his wife alerted him to the angry traveler.
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“My wife started hitting me and saying, 'You know, making me pay attention that something was going on,'” Gallagher said. “There was a beverage cart between us and the accident. So I couldn't see a lot of what was going on, but I could hear some screaming and some, you know, cursing, you know, the flight attendant saying, 'Stop.' “He-she.”
Fox News Digital's Madeleine Coggins, Billy Hill and Ashley J. contributed to this report. Demila, and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten.
