American Flight Diverts After 4 Passengers Pass Out .. EYE Report

NBC Chicago says the source of the problem may have been "a possible issue with cabin pressure. … Martell said it's not known whether the passengers fainted because of the lack of oxygen or because of the excitement of the moment."

Article found HERE By Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY
A Chicago-bound American Airlines flight diverted to Dayton after two flight attendants reported dizziness and four passengers passed out, The Associated Press reports.

The Dayton Daily News reports pilots on American Flight 547 "declared an emergency then landed in Dayton … . "

There were 140 people on board the flight, which had originated at Washington Reagan National Airport near the District of Columbia. The incident happened around 8:15 a.m. ET, according to the Daily News.

The Daily News adds AA "spokesman Ed Martelle said that flight attendants became dizzy and asked the pilots to drop the oxygen masks. Four passengers did not get their masks on and lost consciousness, Martelle said."

One passenger on the flight tells the Daily News the plane — a Boeing 737 — apparently had a mechanical issue before takeoff.

After the flight had pulled back from the gate, passenger Christina Saull of Washington, D.C., tells the Daily News an announcement was made that "we were having problems with the air condition and the cabin pressurization system."

She tells the Daily News that maintenance crews boarded the plane and apparently resolved the issue, allowing the aircraft to queue up for takeoff.

As for the incident, AA spokesman Martelle tells NBC News that complaints of dizziness and sickness began soon after the plane reached 28,000 feet.

The Daily News reports AA is working to get the affected passengers out of Dayton on other flights, a task complicated by a combination of full flights and heavy Friday travel.

Posted Apr 1 2011 12:52PM