AUSTIN, Texas — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating after reports that a plane traveling from Austin to Houston lost power mid-flight.
"Got a little bit of turbulence, a little bit of shakiness," said passenger Karen Rambin.
Rambin said that her flight from Austin to George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Oct. 9 was fine for the most part, but when they landed and saw airside operations waiting on them, she knew something was wrong.
"When he (the pilot) said they towed us back in or going to tow us back in, I kind of thought, 'Hmm what's going on,' you know," said Rambin. "I didn't really understand at that point, but I kept hearing mid-air and it, it did frighten me. It was harrowing."
Rambin said she learned that the Embraer ERJ-175 plane she was traveling on had steering issues and lost power mid-flight.
The plane is operated by Mesa Airlines, which is a regional airline that operates flights on behalf of United Airlines as a United Express partner.
The FAA said it has began investigations into the flight. "This information is preliminary and subject to change," a statement from the administration read.
Mesa Airlines Flight 6078 landed safely at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston around 1 p.m. local time on Oct. 9 after the crew reported "possible electrical and navigational issues."
KVUE learned that the exact same plane had reported the same issue on July 31.
"Mesa Airlines Flight 6248 returned safely to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston around 1:30 p.m. local time on July 31, 2024, after the crew reported possible electrical and navigational issues. The Embraer ERJ-175 was headed to Jacksonville, Florida. The FAA is investigating," an FAA statement read regarding an investigation into that flight.
"If you lose electrical, those actuators stop working so you manually have to fly the aircraft and that's much more difficult, especially for the size of the aircraft we are speaking about," said aviation attorney and pilot Jeff Kelly. "It would be something they trained to do, but still in, anytime there's an emergency, it's something that gets your blood pressure going for sure.
Kelly said while his background is in operating smaller aircrafts, an issue like this is unusual.
"It's very, very abnormal," said Kelly. "Thankfully, the quality of manufacturing nowadays is such that you rarely see this. So this is something that's definitely out of the ordinary."
When KVUE asked Mesa Airlines about the incidents and the possibility of the plane having SIMILAR issue during other flights, a spokesperson with airline responded by saying, "Mesa flight 6078 encountered a momentary technology issue on Wednesday and arrived in Houston without incident. The aircraft is out of service while it undergoes a thorough inspection by our maintenance team."
Rambin is thankful the pilot on her flight knew how to handle the situation.
"I think they need to be safer," said Rambin. "I think they need to ground the plane if the plane has had those kind of issues."