Terrified American Airlines passenger describes how plane plunged to 18,600 feet in SIX minutes after a ‘loud bang’ and a ‘burning smell’ filled the cabin

A passenger aboard an American Airlines plane that fell more than 18,000 feet over the weekend describes his and other passengers’ harrowing experience.

Recounting Thursday’s ordeal both online and in a video interview, Harrison Hove, a professor at the University of Florida, recalled how the plane came down in seconds after travelers heard a “loud bang” and a strange smell filled the cabin .

He described the experience as “terrifying” and shared a series of startling photos that he said failed to capture the intense burning smell, loud noise and deafening sensation passengers were exposed to during the incident.

Dates from FlightAwarethe US’s top flight tracker, shows how the twinjet Embraer ERJ-145 flying to Florida descended 18,600 feet within 43 minutes of takeoff, in just six minutes.

Hove and 49 others who were forced to don oxygen masks during the ordeal were later told the descent was caused by a “possible pressure problem,” after the plane fell another 1,400 feet in five minutes before stabilizing. Fortunately no one was injured.

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“We started to descend really quickly, and once we were breathing, you started to smell this burning smell, so that’s when I got really nervous,” Hove told WBTV News in Charlotte, recalled the saga of the flight after takeoff from Charlotte Intl.

“The first few moments were really scary, really bizarre,” continued the professor, on his way to his home in Gainesville. ‘

“Because your mind wanders and you have a void of information.”

The instructor added on social media: “I’ve flown a lot. This was scary.’

The statement, shared less than an hour after Hove and others landed in Florida, was accompanied by photos showing officials being forced to deploy oxygen masks to compensate for the pressure change during descent.

Hove denied that the snaps did not capture “the burning smell, loud bang or ear-popping” passengers had to endure.

Images show masks dangling from above, and Hove – along with several others – frantically relying on them to breathe during the roughly 11-minute ordeal.

At the time, Hove – after remaining in the dark about the cause of the fear – wrote that after disembarking, he and others were told that “something misfired mid-flight and the pressure in the cabin dropped.”

He offered the update in real time on X, adding to the smell he and others had picked up moments before: “(It) can apparently be attributed to the use of the oxygen bottles.”

“The wing flaps came out to immediately lower our altitude so there would be more oxygen,” he added of how pilots actually deliberately descended to solve the technical problem.

“It was terrifying, but it turned out okay.”

Less than an hour after the plane balanced, Hove and other passengers disembarked at Gainesville Regional, just 10 minutes from his school where classes recently resumed for fall.

When outlets like Fox News picked up the story, American Airlines issued a statement formally explaining the reason for the unforeseen turbulence and confirming that the sudden drop in altitude was due to a pressure problem.

“American Eagle Flight 5916, operated by Piedmont Airlines, from Charlotte (CLT) to Gainesville, Florida (GNV) landed safely in GNV on Thursday,” said the update, broadcast on Fox Business Saturday.

During the flight, the crew received an indication of a possible pressure problem and immediately and safely descended to a lower altitude.

“We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience caused and thank our team for their professionalism.”

Despite the shock, Hove praised the flight’s pilots and three-man crew for handling the situation.

“Kudos to our amazing flight crew and pilots of American Air 5916,” he wrote in his now-viral X update.

The incident comes as turbulence-related mishaps have surfaced as the latest focal point of anger against the already embattled airline industry, which has faced backlash following months of cancellations and reports of poor service.

Last month, an American Airlines passenger revealed that she and other travelers were forced to abandon a plane on its way to takeoff because the pilots had reached a limit on their flight time — all after a five-hour delay.

During their long layover — which Gray said lasted five hours — the family was reportedly told by a gate agent that “the plane was in a hangar being repaired,” hence the delay.

The announcement sent hordes of passengers into panic as they struggled to find alternate routes to their respective destinations.

Gray said she and her husband and two daughters arrived in Charlotte Saturday morning after returning from their European vacation.

Upon arrival at the airport, the family was trapped for hours after a series of delays. The shortfall, experts familiar with the industry say, first surfaced after the companies reduced headcount at the start of the pandemic, and has struggled to recover since then.

Multiple travelers have taken to Twitter to complain about recent experiences with the airlines – voicing grievances ranging from broken or lost luggage, unannounced cancellations and overall poor service.

As of Sunday morning, FlightAware.com reported 1,297 flights to or from the US as canceled or delayed by FlightAware.com, with 479 canceled

As of 10:15 a.m., American — the nation’s largest carrier — was responsible for 228 of those disruptions.

Travel rates, meanwhile, have returned to pre-pandemic levels.