NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A Continental Airlines flight carrying former presidential candidate Ron Paul and six other members of Congress to Washington, D.C., made an emergency landing in New Orleans on Tuesday after a loss in cabin pressure.
A spokesman for one of the congressmen, all from Texas, were trying to get back in time for a Tuesday night vote on an aviation safety bill when the flight landed without incident. No injuries were reported among the 128 crew and passengers.
FAA spokeswoman Lynn Tierney says Flight 458 from Houston initiated a rapid descent to bring the plane to an altitude below where adding oxygen was necessary and was given priority to land at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
Trevor Kincaid, a spokesman for passenger and Representative Nick Lampson, said his boss told him "there was absolutely no panic on the plane." Lampson told Kincaid the plane's oxygen masks dropped down.
Later, Lampson said in a statement that he was impressed by the way the airline's personnel handled the matter. He says they executed a textbook performance in emergency procedure.
Kincaid says also on the flight were Representative Paul, Ted Poe, John Carter, Solomon P. Ortiz, Ciro Rodriguez, and Henry Cuellar. The group was trying to make a vote on the Aviation Safety Enhancement Act.
