Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

Seriously?!

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January 18, 2012

Airline passengers mistakenly warned of emergency landing at sea

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

LONDON — Passengers aboard a British Airways jet flying between Miami and Heathrow were mistakenly told that they were about to make an emergency landing at sea.

Those who were awake at 3 a.m. and heard the announcement started screaming, according to The Telegraph in London. Cabin personnel reassured the passengers that the prerecorded announcement had been played by mistake.

“An alarm sounded and we were told we were about to land in the sea. I thought I was going to die,” a father from Edinburgh, Scotland, said. “My wife was crying and the passengers were screaming. Then they played an announcement telling us just to ignore the warnings.”

Last year, a similar message was played by accident aboard a British Airways flight from Heathrow to Hong Kong. This time an automated female voice said: “This is an emergency announcement. We may shortly need to make an emergency landing on water.”

Passengers thought the plane was going to crash in the North Sea until they were assured that this was a mistake caused when the pilot hit the wrong button. A traveler said the airline apologized for the “undue distress.”

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Seriously?!