What sounded like a prank on an American Airlines flight this week en route to Dallas was actually a hilarious PA system malfunction.
Throughout the flight, it sounded like someone was pranking everyone. The crew and even Captain were obviously annoyed, and worried by the moans, grunts, and random outbursts over the intercom.
Passengers like twitter user @ActuallyEmerson, however, couldn’t stop laughing. And while it was hilarious to some, it brought about serious security questions, if it actually was a prank and a hack. Watch the video above.
What was it? We Reached Out To The Airline
Except, it turns out it was not a hack at all, but rather a malfunction in the PA system. AvGeekery reached out to AA about the incident.
“It’s a hardwired system, so there’s no hacking,” said AA in response to our inquiry. “The PA systems onboard our aircraft are hardwired and there is no external access. There is no Wi-Fi component to our PA systems.”
“Following the initial report, our maintenance team thoroughly inspected the aircraft and the PA system,” added AA. “The sounds were caused by a mechanical issue with the PA amplifier, which raises the volume of the PA system when the engines are running. Our team is reviewing the additional reports.”
As for Emerson and the other passengers, there was no IFE on the flight, but he didn’t seem to mind and was throughly amused by malfunction which kept him entertained instead.
This Wasn’t The First Time It’s Happened
Whatever the case, the malfunction of groans, moans, grunts and outbursts have occurred on several AA flights.
AA has not clarified why the malfunction has occurred on several planes in recent months, or how they plan to fix it. But rest assured, if you start hearing random outbursts on the intercom, it isn’t a prank.
