ST. LOUIS, Mo. — An odor aboard an American Airlines plane caused an emergency landing about 15 minutes after takeoff from St. Louis Lambert International Airport Saturday morning. A couple on board from Waterloo, Illinois, said they feared they would not be able to return home to their children.
Tessa and Mark Springer were flying from St. Louis to Pennsylvania for work. They said the trouble started with a noise.
“We heard this really horrible noise coming from the back of the plane. It was like…a really loud buzzing, sort of grinding noise,” Mark Springer said.
Before takeoff, the pilot went through the intercom.
“The pilot comes back and says, uh, there’s a problem with the plane’s engine,” Mark said. “We can’t start.”
The plane took off then diverted
The couple said the plane took off about two hours later. Mark Springer said that about 15 minutes into the flight, conditions changed.
“All of a sudden, the plane felt like it hit a, like a car, when you brake suddenly, it was just like a, and everyone was rushing forward like that. And then, maybe a minute later, the plane makes a boom and falls… all the oxygen masks fall. And we kind of looked at each other, is this serious? Is this real?'” says Marc.
He said the cabin filled with mist and the flight attendant shouted emergency orders. Tessa said she texted her children: “Trouble on our plane, love you guys.”
“I was like, we’re going to die,” Tessa said.
The plane turned back toward Lambert and landed safely.
Evacuation on the track
Mark and Tessa said they evacuated by jumping off the wing, with strangers catching up on the way down. Tessa took photos while they waited near the runway to be taken back to the terminal.
The Springers are at home. Grateful, but shaken.
“I kept closing my eyes and seeing my kids and thinking about them losing us both at the same time,” Tessa said.
In a statement, American Airlines said the flight returned to Lambert after an odor was reported on board and the plane was removed from service for inspection.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get on another plane,” Mark Springer said.
Copyright 2026 KMOV. All rights reserved.
Gn bussni
