This Wednesday, a portion of the passengers from a flight of the Spanish airline Iberia, which was covering the Madrid-Miami route, finally arrived in Miami. The flight experienced a serious incident about 15 to 20 minutes after takeoff on August 20, which forced the aircraft to urgently return to Adolfo Suárez Airport.
Fortunately, the landing was successful despite the difficult experience. The incident occurred shortly after two in the afternoon (Spanish time), which is eight in the morning (Miami time).
"I thought those were the last minutes of my life, I even said goodbye to my family, I sent them a message on WhatsApp," reiterated Merrye González, a Cuban resident in Miami who was traveling on that plane after using it as a connection from another flight originating in Berlin.
González was the one who detailed the tough experience to journalist Mario Vallejo first through a video call and then offered his testimony in person after arriving in Miami.
"Moments of terror, a lot of fear, a lot of fear. We thought the worst. It was a moment when everything went through our minds because we were very, very scared," declared another passenger in statements to Vallejo.
A third traveler described the experience as "horrible" and complained that they were left stranded at the airport for about ten hours without any information.
"What we experienced today with Iberia was crazy! We took off from Madrid to Miami, everything was normal… until 15 minutes in when the pilot reported a problem. Suddenly, screams of 'Fire!' and a burnt smell filled the cabin. The plane dropped sharply several times, causing panic on board," Mónica Sano, one of the witnesses of the harrowing experience, wrote on TikTok.
"The pilot decided to return to Madrid, avoiding a possible landing on the Mediterranean coast. After hours of tension, we landed safe and sound," added Sano, who shared a video of the evacuation moment.
In the images, dozens of fairly calm people can be seen, despite everything, descending the stairs of the plane towards a bus, while firefighters and emergency personnel took charge of the aircraft.
The 300 passengers on the plane experienced moments of terror when they saw smoke begin to emerge from the cabin and suddenly the air conditioning shut off.
About 15 minutes into the flight, they smelled something burning and smoke began to come out of the cabin. They say the plane was jolting and bouncing, as if it were hitting rocks, it felt like it was diving, and people started to scream.
The Spanish news portal El Debate reported that the incident began a few minutes after takeoff "due to a problem in the climate and pressurization systems," which the airline argued "could not be foreseen in advance."
The source added that when they were extinguished, the smoke stopped coming out and that although the aircraft could have continued its journey, "they returned urgently to Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, as required by protocol."
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