Imagine this...you're on a plane over the Atlantic and then...

[Dexter Dogg]

the flight crew announce...'Please brace for an emergency water landing'

Passengers on board a British Airways flight from Miami to London got the fright of their lives when cabin crew mistakenly announced the plane was going down and they should brace themselves for an emergency water landing.

As panic began to spread among the passengers - with many fearing they were about to die - a flight attendant came on over the intercom to apologise, saying the message was played in error.

Duncan and Tracey Farquharson, from London, were on Saturday's flight and have accused the airline of trivializing passengers' concerns.



They told the Daily Telegraph that staff issued a 'blasé' apology and did not explain exactly what the error was until hours later, when they were landing at Heathrow.

Mr Farquharson, 58, an engineer, said: 'We were about three hours into the flight when an automated message came over the tannoy saying: "This is an emergency, we will shortly be making an emergency landing on water".

'We looked at each other and figured we were both about to die. Families with children were distraught and people were in tears. It was very distressing.

'About 30 seconds later one of the cabin crew told us to ignore the announcement and accept their apologies but the tone of suggested they had not grasped how seriously we had taken it,' he told the Telegraph.
'Imagining yourself plunging towards a cold, watery grave in the middle of the Atlantic is a pretty horrific thought but they seemed very blasé about it.'

Mrs Farquharson, 51, an administrator, added: 'The captain didn’t even say anything about it until when we were coming in to land and even that did not explain what had happened.

'It still makes me very emotional thinking about it now – it was very traumatic.'

A British Airways spokesman said that the cabin crew immediately apologised and spoke to passengers individually to reassure them.
They confirmed that the pre-recorded emergency announcement was activated in error.

The spokesman said: 'The cabin crew cancelled the announcement immediately and sought to reassure customers that the flight was operating normally.

'We would like to apologise to passengers on the flight for causing them undue concern.'

Read more: BA flight crew mistakenly play recorded crash message on flight to London | Mail Online

[bebopalula]

Yikes! That was a major screw-up to say the least. I would have been freaking out!! I can't even imagine the terror those passengers felt. In addition to a more sincere apology, they should have offered free cocktails for the rest of the flight!

[gailatmsu]

I don't like flying anyway, but that would have sent me into a major panic attack. Poor people!

[Delmonico]

[MidwestGirl]

That is just crazy!!

[Jefferson'n'Ted]

I would probably still be in an elevated state of panic.

[BauersMom]

WTF?!? Those poor people, I cannot even imagine the panic in the cabin!!

I'm flying to Atlanta in less than an hour, I pray for no emergencies of any kind.

[Golfgirlrobin]

I'd need a new pair of pants.

[Jefferson'n'Ted]

I'd need a new pair of pants.

The phrase "shit monkeys" came to mind.

[Dexter Dogg]

I cannot get over how they just said "oh ignore that last message" Seriously?!