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Suburban man says United flight had no A/C on tarmac
A suburban man says his United Airlines pilot passed out because of the heat on Tuesday.
CHICAGO - A suburban man says his United Airlines pilot passed out because of the heat on Tuesday.
This came after he says passengers were forced to sit on the tarmac without air conditioning for over an hour.
Tony Dvorzsak says he’s worried that had the flight taken off, the pilot may have passed out in the air.
Dvorzsak provided FOX 32 a photo that shows him covered in sweat, de-boarding a flight that was supposed to take him to Hartford, Connecticut for a business trip. He traveled from Hoffman Estates to O’Hare for an 11:15 a.m. flight.
After several delays, he says passengers finally boarded around 4 p.m. He says the plane had no air conditioning and they were stuck on the tarmac. An hour later, after passengers started to complain — wearing masks in the stifling heat — they were allowed to get off.
"As soon as we got off, then the paramedics and some police officers got on the plane. Apparently the pilot passed out and was being removed," Dvorzsak said.
The flight was ultimately canceled.
Dvorzsak says the crew did offer small water bottles to passengers. He was able to re-book his business trip for Wednesday.
Matthew Modesitt, manager of corporate communications at GoJet Airlines – a subsidiary of United – released a statement Tuesday night.
"GoJet Airlines flight 4435 operating as United Express from Chicago to Hartford encountered a mechanical issue before takeoff resulting in an unexpected rise in cabin temperature. The flight returned to the gate while crews handed out water and passengers deplaned normally at the gate. Maintenance crews are actively assessing the situation. Customers were provided with overnight accommodation."