If it weren’t for a few hair-raising seconds when the plane had to make a sudden, sharp ascent to avoid another aircraft, a United Airlines flight last week from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco would have been uneventful, passengers said.
But the abrupt maneuver injured two travelers aboard flight UA2428 on Sept. 19 and is unlikely to be forgotten by anyone else in the cabin that day.
“They did the usual ‘starting our descent’ thing, and then the plane just pulled up really sharply, like super sharply,” said Michael Lewis, a Mission resident who was returning from a business trip to his video game company’s New York office. “It felt like there was a ton of pressure. It was intense, and everyone was like, ‘What the fuck is going on?’ That lasted a couple of seconds.”
Andrew Garg, an accountant from San Jose, described it differently. He said the swift changes in direction lifted him out of his seat, feeling like the moment a roller coaster plunges, and he was glad to be belted in.
“It was weird. I floated up,” he said. “It was surprising, but nothing too scary.”
The commotion was caused by the pilot of the United plane hurrying to put space between it and another aircraft, according to the airline and the Federal Aviation Administration.
“It slowed its descent to account for another aircraft at a lower altitude,” a United statement said.
The FAA, which controls air traffic, said it is investigating the incident. It did not answer questions about how close the United plane was to the other craft, but CNN reported that a Southwest flight was 3,000 feet below, and a Skywest flight was 1,000 feet below.
“United Airlines Flight 2428 responded to an onboard alert which occurred around 12:45 p.m. local time on Thursday, Sept. 19 in Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center Airspace that another aircraft was in the vicinity,” the airline’s statement said. “The United flight landed safely at San Francisco International Airport.”
The pilot took to the PA system immediately after the plane stabilized to describe what had happened, Garg and Lewis said. Both passengers, who spoke by phone to The Standard on Thursday, provided screenshots of their tickets for the trip.
Despite the tumult, the atmosphere in the plane remained calm, both said. Neither heard anyone yelling or panicking or saw objects moving around the cabin.
However, two passengers were injured and taken to a hospital, according to United. One of them was not seated, despite the illuminated seatbelt sign, the airline said.
When the plane landed, passengers were asked to remain in their seats so the injured travelers could be treated.
“I would have believed that someone had a heart attack,” Lewis said.
Garg said he saw a man hobble down the aisle and saying it felt like his ankle was broken.
At the gate, that injured man and a woman were seated upright on stretchers as paramedics attended to them. The injured passengers’ condition is unknown.
“We’re grateful to our crew for their efforts to ensure the safety of our employees and customers,” United said.