As his plane made a rapid descent to normalize cabin pressure , a Southwest Airlines pilot went on the plane 's loudspeaker and apparently told passengers the aircraft was going down . `` At first it sounded like someone was coming over the PA to talk . Then it sounded like shots through the cabin , twice , back to back , '' passenger Grace Stroud told CNN . `` Seconds later , the panicked captain said , 'We 're in trouble ; we 're going down . ' '' The flight attendants then began securing the bins , she told `` CNN Newsroom '' in a separate interview . One told the captain to deploy the oxygen masks . `` I 'm sure everybody went through their private moments , '' Stroud said . `` My moment was , 'OK , so this is how I 'm going to die , ' and 'At least it will be quick . ' '' Another passenger , Shelley Wills , told CNN affiliate WTVD that the pilot made the remarks as the plane went into a nosedive when it neared the Raleigh-Durham International Airport . `` He said , 'We 're going down . ' And everyone is looking around like , 'Is this a joke ? Is he serious ? ' And then you felt the nosedive . '' Soon after , the Boeing 737 leveled out and made an emergency landing at the Raleigh airport . Pilot 's deadly in-flight heart attack threatens flight . Asked about the WTVD report , a Southwest spokeswoman said it was inaccurate . `` Our pilot said he was descending to 10,000 feet . The report was not accurate from this customer . We landed safely , '' spokeswoman Whitney Eichinger told CNN . But in an e-mail the airline sent Stroud , it acknowledged what Stroud suspected may have happened . `` As the captain was communicating his plan with the flight attendants , he inadvertently activated the PA system in the cabin , '' the e-mail said . `` We sincerely regret any confusion caused by the relay of the information . '' Passenger lands plane after pilot falls ill. Southwest Airlines Flight 3426 had taken off from Tampa , Florida , and was headed to Raleigh . As it approached its destination , the pilot noticed a loss of cabin pressure -- prompting him to make a earlier-than-usual descent . `` As the checklist mandates when there is a pressurization issue , our captain did communicate with flight attendants over the PA that he was initiating a descent to a lower altitude , '' Eichinger said . `` The issue resolved itself , which is also not uncommon , and the aircraft landed normally at Raleigh-Durham . '' Photos : Amazing airplanes crashes with no loss of life . For her part , Stroud said , `` I know what I heard . '' She said she talked to others seated around her , and they all agreed they heard the pilot say the same thing . The FAA says it is investigating the incident . For the `` uneasy feelings '' the experience may have caused her , Stroud was offered a voucher good toward a future flight . Plane blows engine , loses power : 'We 're gon na crash ! '
Captain : ` ` The panicked pilot said , ' We 're in trouble ; we 're going down ' '' Captain , he inadvertently activated the PA system . The FAA is investigating .