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KC-bound flight makes emergency landing

Posted at 10:55 PM, Apr 10, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-11 18:25:15-04

A Southwest Airlines flight from Dallas to Kansas City was diverted to Wichita following a loss of cabin pressure. 

No reported injuries happened during the flight. 

A passenger on the plane tells 41 Action News oxygen masks were deployed during the situation and the airplane declined. 

The flight returned to Kansas City around 3:30 a.m. Monday. 

Southwest Airlines released a public statement on the plane diversion: 

"Southwest flight #50 traveling from Dallas Love Field to Kansas City diverted to Wichita due to a cabin pressurization alert. The plane landed safely in Wichita and we worked with the passengers to accommodate them on other Southwest flights to their final destinations. The safety of our passengers and crew is always our highest priority."

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Multiple passengers on board the flight said rough turbulence plagued the entire time they were in the sky. One passenger described the emergency landing as "the scariest moment" in his entire life.

Audio recordings between control tower officials and pilots show at multiple times during the night, pilots warned of rough winds in the sky.

Aviation expert Gregg Bourdon said while losing pressure on a commercial flight is uncommon, it's something all of the pilots are prepared for.

"It's something that rarely happens, but they go about the procedures," Bourdon explained. "They've been trained to follow a checklist."

Bourdon said in moments of panic, like the one on the recent Southwest flight, pilots resort to their education.

"When that happens, you go back to your training," he said. "You back to the things you learned in flight 101."

With their travel plans disrupted, passengers were forced to find another way home.

The rental car businesses at the Wichita airport were closed when the plane landed. Some chose to stay the night before driving back Monday morning. Other Southwest passengers were forced to wait hours for another connection flight back to KCI.

Luckily, a flight heading from San Francisco was able to land and pick up the passengers to take them back to Kansas City.

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