Chicago-Bound Flight Diverted After United Express Airline Flight’s 10,000 Foot Drop

Officials had a Chicago-bound flight diverted to Indianapolis International Airport on Sunday morning after United Express Airline Flight 5919 suddenly had a minor accident. The flight’s 10,000 foot drop was apparently due to a pressurization issue, but, fortunately, no one was seriously injured.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, the flight’s 10,000 foot drop occurred mid-flight around 8 a.m. while United Express Flight 5919, which is operated by United’s regional partner ExpressJet, was traveling from Charlotte, North Carolina to Chicago. After officials had The Chicago-bound flight diverted, it landed in Indianapolis at 8:30 p.m. at night.

According to Chicago Heights Patch, the United Express flight’s 10,000 foot drop might seem alarming, but United Express airline claims there was no reason to be upset.

“There was a pressurization issue and our crew safely brought the plane down to a lower altitude,” said ExpressJet spokesman Jarek Beem. “There was no unexpected drop.”

None of the passengers was harmed during the incident, although many passengers were complaining about the change in pressure.

“Some passengers were complaining of headaches and ear problems so they diverted to Indianapolis,” said Jeff Dutton, Communications Manager at Indianapolis Airport.

The ExpressJet official also said the crew discovered a mechanical problem related to the cabin pressure.

“The focus at that point was changing altitude as safely and as quickly as possible,” said Beem. “The crew followed procedure to bring the aircraft to a lower altitude following a pressurization issue.”

The United Express flight’s 10,000 foot drop could have been much worse. A United Airlines flight in 1989 suddenly lost pressure when a cargo door came open mid-flight. Nine passengers were sucked out of the plane, but the plane landed in Honolulu without further tragedy.

Beem says several passengers asked for medical attention after landing. None of the passengers or United Express flight staff required a visit to the hospital, so they were examined and released immediately.

FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford told the Chicago Sun-Times that the aircraft was an Embraer E145, and the agency will follow up with United Express airline to discover what caused the pressurization problem. All of the passengers aboard United Express airline flight 5959 were taken to Chicago by bus.

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