Mid-air panic: Passengers freak as plane walls come apart

San Francisco, Oct 15: It was panic in mid air when the inside of an American Airline flying to Dallas started coming apart with a deafening noise.

Passengers say that they knew there was some problem minutes after the flight took off from San Francisco international.

During the initial ascent, the fuselage started shaking violently and popping noises could be heard from outside. One of the passengers said,"It sounded like bowling balls were falling from overhead bins.It was the whole Row 14 on all sides, from the floor to the ceiling."

The passengers called for the flight attendants immediately; however, the pilot of the craft said that since the air pressure inside the plane was stable, the flight would continue.

Later, he changed his mind and decided to make an emergency landing after he saw the damaged panels. Passengers rue,"We flew for 45 minutes, almost an hour (after that). We got all the way to Nevada before turning around."

American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller confirmed that the mishap was due to a blown air duct. Aviation safety experts said that although there was nothing to worry as the panels are not part of the safety structure of the plane, it is disconcerting for passengers to see a part of the plane break.

However, all of them admitted that this was not normal.

Meanwhile, the Flight 2293 landed without any incident in San Francisco. All the 184 passengers or six crew members were unhurt.

OneIndia News