Page 12 - AAA April 23, 2015

Illness on flight diverted to New York 'a big
mystery'

Associated Press
By PAT EATON-ROBB, Associated Press2 hrs ago

© AP Photo/Gary Wiepert Emergency vehicles surround a SkyWest Airlines plane, operating
as United Express, that made an emergency landing at Buffalo Niagara International Airport,
Wednesday, April 22, 2015, in Cheektowaga, N.Y. A SkyWest…
HARTFORD, Conn. — An airline passenger said he had trouble breathing, and others felt ill,
but the airline said Thursday that an inspection found no mechanical faults after the jet made
an emergency landing in New York.
And while federal safety officials had no explanation for what happened on the aircraft on
Wednesday, aviation experts said the flight crew did the right thing by quickly descending to
10,000 feet, an altitude with life-giving oxygen levels.
SkyWest Flight 5622, operating as United Express and carrying 75 passengers, left O'Hare
airport in Chicago on Wednesday morning and was bound for Bradley International Airport
near Hartford. The Embraer E170 began a steep, rapid descent from its cruising altitude of
37,000 feet after the crew declared an emergency and landed in Buffalo late Wednesday
morning.