American Airlines is getting surrounded by complaints of strange noises over the PA system. These noises have been reported several times on the American Airlines flight in recent weeks. The new situation has raised concerns about hacking. Based on the reports, these strange noises range from heavy breathing to groaning, which have persisted through entire flights. Hence, fueling the concerns of vulnerabilities in hacking. The reports attracted even more attention when the audio-video footage of the noises was shared by Actor Emerson Collins during his flight on September 6 from Los Angeles to Dallas.
An American Airlines flight attendant says in the video that she thinks the noises are a joke at one point. There have also been reports of plane phones ringing but no one being on the other end. While there have been more complaints of these noises in September, one Twitter user claims to have encountered the same things on an American aircraft in July, indicating that they have been happening for longer.
The weirdest flight ever.
These sounds started over the intercom before takeoff and continued throughout the flight.
They couldn’t stop it, and after landing still had no idea what it was. pic.twitter.com/F8lJlZHJ63— Emerson Collins (@ActuallyEmerson) September 23, 2022
One of the Twitter users going by the name JonNYC claimed that the pilots operating the flight said, "someone keeps calling and breathing into the interphone," later on, these noises moved to the PA system. These noises have received multiple descriptions, like "noises out of a horror movie." The in-flight entertainment (IFE) and seat power outlets intermittently went on and off, and these noises persisted over the PA system. Both Boeing and Airbus aircraft in the AA fleet have been involved in these incidents.
Multiple reports suggest that the pilots resorted to resetting the PA system after the noises started on them. Once the reset was complete, the PA system worked normally. Considering this development, speculations are that these noises were because of an electrical fault.
whoa, I actually have now encountered quite a few reports of this!https://t.co/equClOSKyB
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) September 20, 2022
In a statement to Simple Flying, an American Airlines spokesperson said, "Our maintenance team thoroughly inspected the aircraft and PA system and determined the sounds were caused by an issue with the PA amplifier. There was no external access to the system." It's also crucial to remember that the PA system is hard-wired and not connected to any WiFi networks, making it improbable that a passenger (or numerous passengers) used it while the plane was in the air. Hence, the exact source of the noise is not clear yet.
