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A Southwest flight had to be rerouted due to cabin pressure problems, failing to arrive in Denver, and instead landing at Oakland International Airport.
Flight 1655, operated by Southwest Airlines, had left Sacramento International Airport at around 2:51 p.m., more than half an hour past its scheduled time of departure, and was supposed to reach its destination on Sunday evening.
Instead however, the plane, which was carrying 133 passengers, apparently suffered mechanical issues mid-air, forcing the pilot to stray from the pre-established route, in order to have the problems addressed immediately.
According to officials at Oakland International Airport, there was a cabin pressurization failure, which made it unsafe to continue the rest of the trip as intended.
Instead, the flight was rerouted, and spent around an hour flying above Yuba City, close to Sacramento, so as to use up fuel, before managing to successfully land at the Oakland airfield at around 5:15 p.m.
All the passengers were able to leave the plane safe and sound, and were carried by another Southwest Airlines plane to their original destination, arriving approximately 3 hours late in Denver, according to Dan Landson, a spokesperson for the low-cost airline carrier.
Currently, as explained by Oakland Airport representative Keonnis Taylor, the malfunctioning Southwest Airlines aircraft is being meticulously examined by mechanics.
The purpose is to determine what led to the mid-air failure and what steps should be taken in order to boost the safety of crew and passengers likewise, so that the plane can be repaired and resume its operations.
Southwest Airlines, which was ranked as the second most appreciated low-cost carrier in the 2015 North America Airline Satisfaction Study, has actually made headlines quite recently prior to this latest incident, following another technical mishap which could’ve ended tragically.
On Wednesday, December 23, flight 2547 meant to arrive in Chicago also experienced issues, shortly after leaving from Oakland International Airport.
On that occasion, the problems concerned the aircraft’s landing gear, which prompted the attention and concern of the pilot. It was decided that the plane should land back in Oakland, so that maintenance works could be conducted.
As a result, the plane was forced to circle for around 3 hours above Stockton, in San Joaquin County, California, in an effort to dump fuel. Eventually, it was able to achieve a successful landing, and was subsequently subjected to a thorough inspection.
Meanwhile, its passengers were transferred to other planes, or chose other means of transport after finding the incident too overwhelming and traumatizing.
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