"Traumatized" passengers on Florida-bound Spirit Airlines flight with mechanical failure point out escape flaws
FORT LAUDERDALE — Moments after Spirit Airlines flight 270 took off from Montego Bay, Jamaica to Fort Lauderdale, passengers were told they had to go back. Then they say, they got an alarming message from the cockpit.
"I would say 15 min from the first announcement we were told that we had to prepare for a water landing. Everyone went frantic on the plane," Shancy Faison said.
She and her husband were on the flight coming home to South Florida. She said getting her life vest was difficult.
"I tried to retrieve my life vest, and the case that the life vest was in it would not open. My husband then took his life vest off of him and placed it on me, and he still fought for it. Took about 4 of us to break open the box," she said.
Kay McKnight was on board. She was trying to get home to Philly.
"We all got our little life jackets on, couldn't get the sh** from under the seat like they showed us. We're struggling to get it, people panicking, people crying," McKnight said.
She shared her fear on TikTok.
"I've never felt so damn scared in my entire life, okay, never felt this scared in my entire life," she said.
"We all braced ourselves," Shancy said. "We were praying to please, make it to the, to the airport safely, and next thing you know, we, we landed safely back into Montego Bay," she said.
Shancy told us she was grateful to be on the ground but said it could be a while before she flew again.
"I'm still traumatized. I wake up and I start reliving the incident again, because the matter of not returning home to my son that was waiting for us to return back. That's what breaks me the most," she said.
Spirit Airlines released a statement saying:
"Spirit Airlines flight 270 (MBJ-FLL) returned to Montego Bay (MBJ) on May 26 out of an abundance of caution following a suspected mechanical issue. The plane landed safely at MBJ and taxied to the terminal where Guests deplaned under normal procedures. Safety is our top priority, and the aircraft will be thoroughly evaluated by our maintenance team. We apologize to our Guests for any inconvenience, and we arranged a new aircraft to complete the flight to Fort Lauderdale (FLL)."
