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Passengers describe emergency landing on flight from GR to Chicago

Posted at 6:42 PM, Mar 15, 2015
and last updated 2015-03-15 18:44:25-04

CHICAGO, IL.– Scary moments on board a United Airlines flight from Grand Rapids to Chicago.

The flight started normal, but quickly took a turn for the worse when the pilot attempted to land.

Thankfully that plane eventually touched-down safely, and no one was hurt.

Chris Contreras and John Kilgren from Grand Rapids recorded audio from on board United Airlines Flight 3645 on Saturday afternoon.

In the audio, you can hear a baby crying, and the flight attendant yelling to brace for an emergency landing.

The passengers said that the pilot came on the intercom to say there was an error message, signaling the landing gear wasn’t locking. The flight crew then prepared for the worse.

“The anxiety was the first part because you are flying in circles and you know at some point you have to come down. This plane will be on the ground,” said a passenger. “Your in that brace position. You get that rush of anxiety of what’s going to happen when this thing hits.”

Thankful to be alive, Contreras and Kilgren said that the landing went remarkably well, and are just happy to have made it out unharmed.

“It wasn’t until you were off the plane and onto the bus that there was probably, you know a lot more kind of rush of emotion and just like holy cow, what just happened,” said the passenger.

Emergency crews were also waiting on the runway for when the airplane landed.

The passengers we spoke with said that United Airlines offered them a $75 dollar voucher for their troubles, and that was sent to them in an email while they were still on board the plane.

Also, since the NTSB took control of the aircraft to investigate the problem, no one was allowed to retrieve their checked luggage.