Four Clarenville, N.L., women saw their lovely weekend in Prince Edward Island take a scary turn as their airplane filled with smoke on their return trip to Newfoundland last week.
The women, who had enjoyed a half-marathon run in P.E.I., were 30 minutes into their Porter flight from Halifax to St. John's on Oct. 21 when the aircraft cabin got hazy.
Stacey Sheppard, who spoke to The Packet on behalf of the group, said the flight attendant rushed to the back of the plane to contact the captain.
“When they opened the cockpit doors, the smoke was really heavy and it all came back. It started getting thicker and thicker,” Sheppard said.
There was a sense of urgency among the flight attendants and Sheppard’s mind began to race.
“I thought, ‘This not really happening.’ The captain came on and said there was smoke and they are going to brace for impact and attempt to land,” Sheppard said.
Passengers were advised to rip cloths off the back of their seats to filter the smoke. Sheppard said oxygen masks were not on the plane because the Q400 is smaller plane that operates below 25,000 feet.
“The flight attendant is telling us to brace ourselves over and over. There was a command in their voices; it was very confident but you could sense their fear. The fear there with everyone on the aircraft,” Sheppard said.
Though some people were crying, the passengers had a sense of calm and weren’t loud, she said.
The plane took an abrupt downturn and Sheppard said some of the ladies felt their ears pop dramatically.
“The flight attendant got us to feel all the overhead bins for hot spots. Then we had to get ready for impact and she (the flight attendant) was telling us what to do in the event she became incapacitated,” Sheppard said.
Sheppard suddenly saw trees and then they landed, almost like a helicopter, without taxiing for very long.
Upon landing at the Sydney airport in Cape Breton, the emergency exit was opened and passengers jumped out without a slide, leaving their items behind.
“It was a like a scene out of a movie. There was fire trucks and police cars barreling down and 10 ambulances on stand-by waiting for us,” she said.
Police escorted them to a hangar where they waited. Sheppard said she was impressed by the pilot’s abilities and the professionalism of the flight attendants.
“One flight attendant told me that in 30 years that was the biggest scare she had,” Sheppard said.
However, she said Porter’s reaction left a little to be desired. The group was put back onto another flight, knowing it would be turbulent, and they were still in a state of shock.
“They did write us an email and compensated our flight home and gave us some vouchers to use within the next year. They gave it to us for our ‘disruption of travel.’ I think they failed to see what we went through as passengers,” she said.
“I’ll travel again, because you can’t let that fear own you. But not all of us within our group are coping quite the same. ”
Transport Canada said in a statement that it was aware of the incident and was following up with the company “as per our protocol.” The Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the incident.
Four Clarenville, N.L., women saw their lovely weekend in Prince Edward Island take a scary turn as their airplane filled with smoke on their return trip to Newfoundland last week.
The women, who had enjoyed a half-marathon run in P.E.I., were 30 minutes into their Porter flight from Halifax to St. John's on Oct. 21 when the aircraft cabin got hazy.
Stacey Sheppard, who spoke to The Packet on behalf of the group, said the flight attendant rushed to the back of the plane to contact the captain.
“When they opened the cockpit doors, the smoke was really heavy and it all came back. It started getting thicker and thicker,” Sheppard said.
There was a sense of urgency among the flight attendants and Sheppard’s mind began to race.
“I thought, ‘This not really happening.’ The captain came on and said there was smoke and they are going to brace for impact and attempt to land,” Sheppard said.
Passengers were advised to rip cloths off the back of their seats to filter the smoke. Sheppard said oxygen masks were not on the plane because the Q400 is smaller plane that operates below 25,000 feet.
“The flight attendant is telling us to brace ourselves over and over. There was a command in their voices; it was very confident but you could sense their fear. The fear there with everyone on the aircraft,” Sheppard said.
Though some people were crying, the passengers had a sense of calm and weren’t loud, she said.
The plane took an abrupt downturn and Sheppard said some of the ladies felt their ears pop dramatically.
“The flight attendant got us to feel all the overhead bins for hot spots. Then we had to get ready for impact and she (the flight attendant) was telling us what to do in the event she became incapacitated,” Sheppard said.
Sheppard suddenly saw trees and then they landed, almost like a helicopter, without taxiing for very long.
Upon landing at the Sydney airport in Cape Breton, the emergency exit was opened and passengers jumped out without a slide, leaving their items behind.
“It was a like a scene out of a movie. There was fire trucks and police cars barreling down and 10 ambulances on stand-by waiting for us,” she said.
Police escorted them to a hangar where they waited. Sheppard said she was impressed by the pilot’s abilities and the professionalism of the flight attendants.
“One flight attendant told me that in 30 years that was the biggest scare she had,” Sheppard said.
However, she said Porter’s reaction left a little to be desired. The group was put back onto another flight, knowing it would be turbulent, and they were still in a state of shock.
“They did write us an email and compensated our flight home and gave us some vouchers to use within the next year. They gave it to us for our ‘disruption of travel.’ I think they failed to see what we went through as passengers,” she said.
“I’ll travel again, because you can’t let that fear own you. But not all of us within our group are coping quite the same. ”
Transport Canada said in a statement that it was aware of the incident and was following up with the company “as per our protocol.” The Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the incident.