Delta flight plunges 30,000 feet in mins, flyers panic

A Delta plane traveling from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday plunged nearly 30,000 feet in less than seven minutes, sparking fear and panic among passengers. The flight later made an emergency landing in Tampa, Florida.

The flight experienced a "cabin pressurisation irregularity" during the journey, the airline said in a statement. As a result, oxygen masks dropped from the top of the cabin.

"All of a sudden the oxygen masks dropped out and you started hearing this real howling sound, which I think was the engine because the pilot was diving to get below," Brandon Tomlinson, one of the passengers onboard, told BuzzFeed News.

The pressure drop was recorded about 35 minutes after takeoff, according to the report.

According to reports, the pilots decided to initiate a controlled rapid descent after they were alerted about a "possible issue with the aircraft depressurisation." The move was aimed at reducing pressure inside the cabin by getting to an altitude where people don't have to wear masks on the aircraft.

The sudden descent, however, caused passengers to panic. Some passengers even texted farewell messages to loved ones.