In 2024, many people traveled to faraway places. For many, those memories began when they were traveling aboard the thousands of planes that fly around the world every day.
As 2024 comes to a close, we've rounded up some of last year's craziest airline stories.
door malfunction
On January 5, an incident went viral on an Alaska Airlines aircraft in which a plug door panel covering an additional emergency exit, operable only on maximum-capacity planes, was blown off at 16,000 feet.
The plane was departing from Portland, Oregon, and a panel depressurized the cabin. The pilot returned the plane safely to Portland, and no serious injuries were reported.
Another Delta customer yells profanity at departure gate, leading to police intervention and flight delay
Video footage of the accident shows passengers sitting and panicking as wind blows into the plane due to the missing door. The incident led to lawsuits against the airline and brought new scrutiny to aircraft manufacturer Boeing.
“Boeing is responsible for what happened,” said Dave Calhoun, Boeing's CEO at the time. “Regardless of the specific cause of the accident, an event like this should never happen on a plane departing from our factory. We must do better. Our customers have the right to be better. There is.”
Tragedy caught on video
airplanes operated by Brazilian airlines The Vorpass crashed in São Paulo state in August, killing everyone on board.
The fire accident occurred in a residential area and more than 60 passengers and crew were killed. The plane departed from cascabel, brazilin the state of Paraná.
This frame taken from a video shows fire from a plane that crashed into a house in Vinhedo, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, Friday, August 9, 2024. (Felipe Magalhães Filho, via AP)
Footage taken seconds before the crash showed the plane drifting vertically downwards and then spiraling down to the ground.
Aviation experts at the time speculated that the ATR 72-500 twin-engine turboprop plane had stalled in midair.
What's that smell?
In December, passengers on an American Airlines flight from Dallas, Texas to Minneapolis, Minnesota were in for an unexpected surprise when the toilet leaked into the cabin aisle.
2024's most viral travel trends include 'gate lice' and 'seat occupants'
Unable to turn off the water, a leak crept into the cabin while we were almost there. 3 hour flight.
Passengers were seen lifting their bags to avoid what Hilary Stewart Blazevich called the “nasty” liquid, and some even tried to step over it. water.
wing damage
united airlines passenger The wing of a Boeing 757 plane was filmed “breaking apart” shortly before a flight from San Francisco to Boston was diverted to Denver due to an accident in February.
Kevin Clark captured a video showing damage to the plane's wings, which ultimately led to the flight making an emergency landing in Denver to assess the problem. Immediately after takeoff, he said at the time, he experienced “the most intense shaking and trembling” before falling asleep again.
“The pilot walked down the aisle and went behind me,” Clark told Lawrence Jones on “Fox & Friends.”
“I looked out the window, went back to the cockpit, came on the PA system and said, ‘We’re going to divert to Denver. minor damage …In front of the wing. ' So I immediately opened the window and looked at the wing, and as you can see in the photo, the trailing edge of the strut was completely destroyed. ”
“At that point, I thought, well, it's no small loss, but… United's pilots are capable enough to get us to Denver,” he continued. “I think they're already on their way.”
A Boeing 757-200 carrying 165 passengers landed in Denver to “address a slat issue” on one of its wings. The passengers were put on another plane and arrived later in the day. in boston.
A slat is a movable panel at the forward end or leading edge of a wing that is used during takeoff and landing.
When travelers visit certain cities, they may be subject to yet another “tourist tax”
unruly passenger
Days after 2024 began, an enraged passenger allegedly punched a flight attendant before being removed from the plane.
On January 3, American Airlines Flight 1497 from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas to Bozeman-Yellowstone International Airport in Montana was diverted due to poor etiquette by a passenger.
Keith Edward Faziana repeatedly punched a flight attendant, forcing the plane to divert to Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport in Texas. Authorities said the incident began when another passenger complained that Faziana was kicking a chair.
After the flight attendant got involved, Faziana became enraged and began punching the American Airlines employee in the stomach, police said.
JP Gallagher, Representative from Montana; told FOX4 His wife reportedly warned the enraged voyager.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“My wife started hitting me and trying to get my attention to what was going on,” Gallagher said. “There was a drink cart between us and the incident, so I couldn't see much of what was going on, but I could hear the yelling, the swearing, and the flight attendant saying, 'Stop!' “that. “
Fox News Digital's Madeline Coggins, Bailee Hill, Ashley J. DiMella and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
