Story highlights
NEW: FAA backtracks on saying crew reported a pressurization problem
One passenger lost consciousness
The plane descended 28,000 feet in three minutes
A SkyWest Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday after a passenger lost consciousness, officials said.
The passenger received medical attention before being released, according to Marissa Snow, spokeswoman for SkyWest. She said the airliner expects to accommodate the 75 passengers on another aircraft to their original destination – Hartford, Connecticut – later Wednesday afternoon.
The Federal Aviation Administration initially reported a pressurization problem and said it would investigate. Snow said there was no indication of any pressurization issues, and the FAA later issued a statement that did not reference a pressurization problem.
SkyWest also said there was no problem with the plane’s door, which some media initially reported.
Flight 5622 was originally scheduled to fly from Chicago to Hartford. The plane descended 28,000 feet in three minutes.
“It would feel like a roller coaster – when you’re coming over the top and you’re going down,” CNN aviation analyst Mary Schiavo said, describing how such a descent would feel. “You know that these pilots knew they were in a very grave and very serious situation.”