O'hare Flight Makes Emergency Landing After Multiple Passengers Became Ill

By Danette Chavez in News on Apr 23, 2015 6:05PM

A SkyWest Airlines flight out of O'Hare that had to make an emergency landing yesterday actually had multiple passengers and even a member of the flight crew fall ill, but there's still no official word on what caused the problems.

Early reports indicated that after a passenger on the Hartford, Connecticut-bound flight yesterday morning lost consciousness, the pilot became worried about the cabin pressure and made an emergency landing at Buffalo Niagara International. The plane made a rapid descent which scared multiple passengers who had "their heads down praying."

Mary Cunningham, a nurse and Connecticut native, was also a passenger on the flight and was asked to look after the first unconscious woman. Cunningham said the passenger, who was described as "lethargic" was given oxygen to help her breathe. The nurse and a member of the crew then attended to at least one other passenger before also growing lightheaded and short of breath.

SkyWest later reported that in total three passengers lost consciousness on the flight. Although a pressurization problem was initially blamed for the incident, the FAA has now ruled that out. A spokeswoman for the airline said that the pilots showed an "abundance of caution" in making the decision to land so quickly. More than a dozen other passengers were evaluated at the gate, though they did not require treatment.