Southwest passengers cried, vomited, and sent goodbye texts as their flight attempted to land in a heavy storm (LUV)

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April 16, 2018 3:17 PM

Some Southwest Airlines passengers wondered why the flight attempted to land in New Orleans during the storm.

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After trying to land in New Orleans during a storm, the flight was diverted to Panama City, Florida, to refuel and wait it out.
Some passengers wondered why the flight attempted to land in New Orleans at all.

Some Southwest Airlines passengers thought they were headed for a crash as their flight from Florida to New Orleans attempted to land on Saturday during a storm.

According to Newsweek, passengers cried, screamed, vomited, and sent goodbye texts to their families during the attempted landing.

"It felt like I was about to lift off," a passenger named Marie Wary told the New Orleans news station WWL-TV. "I felt like I was done. I felt like I was about to see baby Jesus and Papa God."

Another passenger said there was "no visibility" during the attempted landing.

Southwest Flight 3461 was headed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, which received 3.45 inches of rain on Saturday. It was eventually diverted to Panama City, Florida, to refuel and wait out the storm, but some passengers wondered why the flight attempted its initial landing at all.

"This was all 100% preventable but @SouthwestAir took a huge risk and I honestly feel lucky to be alive," Lauren Bale, a WWL-TV reporter who was on the flight, said on Twitter. "I just don't understand why @SouthwestAir put everyone in that situation."

A Southwest representative told Business Insider in a statement that the airline's "top focus is safety."

"Flight 3461 from Fort Lauderdale to New Orleans arrived about four hours behind schedule after persistent thunderstorms over New Orleans forced prolonged holding near New Orleans awaiting clearance from air traffic controllers, followed by a refueling stop in Panama City before the completion of the journey," the representative continued. "The safety of our customers and employees as well as the safe operation of every flight is our highest priority."

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