‘We’re going to die’: Couple recount terrifying emergency landing during American flight

ST. LOUIS (KMOV/Gray News) - A couple on board an American Airlines flight that had to make an emergency landing about 15 minutes after takeoff feared they wouldn’t make it home to their kids.Tessa and Mark Springer, a couple from Waterloo, Illinois, were flying from St. Louis to Pennsylvania for work. Their flight took off Saturday morning from St. Louis Lambert International Airport, but trouble started before the plane even left the ground.“We heard just this really horrible noise coming from the back of the plane. It was like... real loud buzzing, kind of grinding sound,” Mark Springer said.Before takeoff, the pilot came over the intercom.“The pilot comes back on and says, ‘Uh, there’s a problem with the engine on the airplane,’” Mark Springer said. “‘We can’t get it started.’”The Springers say the plane took off roughly two hours later.‘We’re going to die’About 15 minutes into the flight, Mark Springer says conditions suddenly changed.“All of a sudden, the plane just felt like it