American’s BOS-MIA Passengers Describe Fire & Panic on Diverted Flight to JFK

One of the flight attendants was literally shaking and sobbing and we looked at each other like, ‘Somebody else speak through the PA.’”

The Boston Globe reports that a loud boom occurred about 30 minutes into the flight, followed a few seconds later by another boom as smoke began to enter the cabin. Last night’s AA Flight 1086 from Boston to Miami had 180 passengers aboard. The flight eventually made an emergency landing at JFK 25 minutes later, but passengers recounted a scary on-board experience:

“The plane started to shake and rattle and people really started to freak out,” said Drew Nederpelt, a Miami business man who was traveling with his girlfriend. “There was lot of crying and screaming. One of the flight attendants was literally shaking and sobbing and we looked at each other like, ‘Somebody else to speak through the PA.’”

Apparently there was another flight attendant, Evelyn, who helped calm passengers down and she now has a poem written in her honor.

American described the situation as a mechanical problem with one of the A321’s two engines and says its currently being examined by maintenance.

Passengers were extremely grateful to be back on the ground, but were upset that American didn’t send anyone to speak to them about what had just occurred on-board and to debrief them on the situation. Instead, the airline provided sandwiches and drinks and eventually placed passengers on another plane to Miami.

You can check out accounts from the passengers here.