Vermont-Bound Flight Diverted To Philly After Cabin Loses Pressure

By Pat Loeb

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It was a scary ride for passengers on a United Express flight headed from Washington, D.C. to Burlington, Vermont, Wednesday morning.

KYW's Pat Loeb reports the flight got diverted to Philadelphia after the cabin lost pressure.

You hear about the possibility every time you fly, but what happened on the early morning flight is extremely rare.

"About half an hour into the flight we saw the oxygen masks drop," passenger Ellie Donahue (top photo) said.

Donahue was flying with her husband and young son. And yes, she put her mask on first.

"At first you don't quite know if it's real or if it was just an accident, but I looked around and everyone was putting them on so I put mine on and tried to get my toddler's mask on but he wanted nothing to do with it so that was a little frightening," she said.

Donahue says the passengers stayed calm and the stewardess in control.

"The voice system went down and so she had to just sort of shout," she said.

The plane landed quickly and no one was hurt. The passengers continued on different flights.

United says mechanics are checking the plane.

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• Vermont
• Washington
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