During a trip to Los Angeles for a Pokémon Go tournament, a Nebraska father and his two sons came perilously close to disaster on a Frontier Airlines flight. Tragically, a man was sucked into the plane’s engine.
John Anthens, 56, believed he and his sons, Jacob, 30, and Levi, 19, were facing their last moments as the plane’s engine ingested an unidentified pedestrian.
“When the engine blew up, I thought, ‘oh sh*t, we’re all going to die,” John Anthens recalled.
Anthens described feeling the plane’s nose lift before a sound resembling a “bomb” shook the cabin.
Jacob mentioned his father was looking out the window when it occurred and witnessed a horrific scene.
The sight of human legs spinning in the engine.
“My dad said when the engine caught fire, he saw human legs spinning in it…which sounds like emotional trauma to me,” Jacob said.
The plane managed to level its nose and halt. The family said they were engulfed in thick black smoke, with flight attendants instructing passengers to remain seated.
“I believe most people were unaware of what was happening, but there was a huge explosion, and naturally, when you hear that, people scream, kids cry, and it was terrifying,” John said.
The family eventually exited the plane safely, with John taking photos of the grim scene and Levi assisting passengers down the slides.
They had a restless night and chose to cancel their initial California trip due to the ordeal. Frontier offered John a $500 flight credit, which he felt was of little consolation after the traumatic experience.
The incident also disrupted their planned attendance at the Pokémon Regional Championships.
Anthens explained they were heading to Los Angeles to compete in a Pokémon Go tournament with Jacob at the LA Convention Center.
Jacob, a highly-ranked player in Pokémon Go, had ambitions to advance significantly in the tournament.
“I thought I had a real chance to make some noise there,” he stated.
“We planned to have some fun, but we missed that chance,” John added.
Choosing to avoid another flight, the family is driving the 8-hour journey back to Omaha, Nebraska, in a rental car.
Despite the distressing plane ordeal and missing the Pokémon event, the family strives for a positive outlook.
They’re taking a detour on their way back.
John mentioned they plan to go whitewater rafting, just hours after their near-death experience.
“[We need to] focus on something other than someone getting caught in an engine,” he said.
