Permalink: flightaware.com/live/flight/BTA2 … /KIAH/KTUL
Story:
TULSA, OK – A Continental Express jet experienced what the airline said was “pressurization problems” and had to make an emergency landing in Tulsa Monday morning.
Flight 2916 was en route from Houston to Omaha with 50 passengers and a crew of 3 on board when the crew declared an emergency and diverted to Tulsa International Airport.
The twin-engine Embraer EMB-145XR was flying above 11,000 feet, possibly as high as 36,000 feet, when the emergency happened.
SkyNews6 pilot Will Kavanagh told NewsOn6.com that at that altitude the pilots had less than one minute to either put their oxygen masks on or descend the plane quickly enough to make up for the thin air.
Kavanagh said the FAA requires a passenger plane that loses pressurization to descend below 14,500 feet for no longer than 30 minutes.
The crew then would have to descend below 10,000 feet after that.
Tulsa Fire and EMSA crews assessed the passengers’ health, but there are no reports of any injuries and no one was taken to a hospital.
A spokesperson for Continental Express Jet said the oxygen masks did not deploy.
Carry on…