Passengers on flights often have to deal with infuriating noises, whether it’s a screaming baby, noisy eaters, or people talking so loudly that the entire plane can hear their conversation.
Unfortunately for Paul Marks, a recent flight from his hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland, to Leeds, United Kingdom, was disrupted by an unfamiliar beeping sound throughout the journey.
The eventful Aer Lingus Regional flight, operated by Emerald Airlines, on Aug. 10 became memorable for all the wrong reasons, Marks said. News week that it was “a 50-minute flight on the wild side.”
“It was a similar noise to when the pilot raised the slats and flaps, but it just didn’t stop,” he continued.
u/pharxy/Reddit
“It sort of became background noise after 20 minutes, but then the pitch and volume would change randomly at different times, making it both disturbing and annoying.”
News week has contacted Emerald Airlines for comment on the incident.
The sound could be heard throughout the flight, which is why Marks believes his fellow passengers didn’t seem too distressed. “If it had started at a random time, maybe more people would have been worried,” he added.
However, the sight of cabin crew scanning the overhead compartments looking for the source of the noise was slightly alarming to some. Marks still doesn’t know what caused the noise, but it’s an interesting story to share.
“I think others only became concerned when the flight crew started searching the overhead compartments with a flashlight and recording the noise on their cell phones to report to the pilots.”
Founded in 2020, Emerald Airlines is Ireland’s newest regional airline. As of March 2023, Aer Lingus Regional had carried more than one million passengers since forming the partnership with Emerald 12 months previously, according to the company.
Footage of the flight was shared by Marks on his Reddit account, u/pharxy on September 11, adding that the sound “didn’t stop until after we landed.”
The post attracted a lot of attention and racked up over 1,800 votes and hundreds of comments. Many Reddit users are wondering what could have caused the noise during the flight.
The reaction to this post is unlike anything he could have imagined, recounting News week that it’s “the most upvotes (he) has ever gotten.” Many Redditors shared their own theories about what they think could have caused the noise, with Marks joking that he was given a wide range of possible options.
“I do like some of the answers though, from the weird to the hilarious. The so-called experts all seem to have different answers that are quickly debunked by the next Redditor. But, by far, all the comments have been really charming. ” he said.
Among the many comments on the post, Reddit user u/NyJosh wrote: “It almost looks like the electric motors that raise and lower shutters etc. but go crazy and don’t stop.”
A comment from u/Upper-Wind-2055 reads: “Yes, this sounds a bit like the hydraulic system trying to track a leak, either fluid or accumulator pressure.”
News week contacted Emerald Airlines on September 15 through its website for comment. We have not been able to verify the details of the case.
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