WASHINGTON -- Probably all of us who have ever flown have had trouble popping our ears, but for dozens of people on a plane that had to divert to Dulles on Thursday, it was way worse than that.
Even before American Flight 4840 from Harrisburg to Charlotte had to divert to Dulles, Latasha Williams says she was in severe pain -- 10 out of 10.
"I began to feel an excruciating pain in my head. First on the right side of my ear, and then on the left side. It was so bad that I really wanted to scream out in pain," said Williams.
A spokesman for American Airlines will only say the pilot diverted because of a "mechanical issue." But an airport spokeswoman said it was a pressurization issue in the small jet, an Embraer 145, operated by Piedmont Airlines for American Eagle.
Williams and another passenger said the air pressure in the cabin was so bad that they started bleeding from their noses and mouths.
"Blood on my pants, nose and shoes. I believe most came out of my nose. Some may have come out of my ears," said Williams.
When the ground and air crews finally wrestled the cabin door open, the pressure equalized in a burst and the pain got even worse.
"I screamed out in pain. Many other passengers in the cabin screamed out in pain," said Williams.
Firefighters treated five passengers. They rushed three of them to Reston Hospital with what the airport says were minor injuries. But Williams said a doctor warned her her ear drum could burst if she got back on a plane.
She is still frustrated about American Airlines' response. But she said the airline did finally agree to pay for her taxi ride back to Harrisburg, and for the conference she missed in Phoenix because she could not get back on another plane.
