ASSOCIATED PRESS ASSOCIATED PRESS

THE EVACUATION SLIDE of a flight across the US accidentally inflated mid-flight, entirely filling the plane’s galley as passengers snapped photos of it.

The United Airlines flight from Chicago to Southern California made an emergency landing in Kansas after the incident, but nobody was hurt.

Mike Schroeder, 58, said he was on board the flight last night when he heard a hiss and pop. He turned around and saw the plane’s evacuation slide starting to inflate. He said this morning:

I thought to myself, ‘I hope there is no one in the restroom because if they are they’re not coming out for a long time.’

AP AP

Schroeder, a lawyer from Newport Beach, California, said he was surprised at how calm all the passengers were, with many — himself included — snapping photos of the inflated slide with their phones. For a short time, he said, lights went out and movies stopped playing along the left side of the Boeing 737-700.

The flight landed safely at Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport. Schroeder said:

When the pilot came out right after landing he said, ‘Oh golly, I’ve never seen that before.’

Christen David, a spokeswoman for the Chicago-based airline, said the slide “accidentally deployed” and that all 96 passengers were seated when the slide inflated. The airline provided passengers with hotel rooms and a continuing flight.

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