American Airlines Flight from San Francisco to Dallas Makes Emergency Landing at SFO After Cabin Walls Buckle

An American Airlines flight from San Francisco to Dallas made an emergency landing at SFO after panels inside the plane's cabin began to come apart in mid-air, the airline confirmed Monday afternoon.

AA Flight 2293 landed without incident at about 2:15 p.m., an hour after takeoff, and taxied to the gate, according to FAA spokesperson Ian Gregor.

The plane’s captain decided to return to San Francisco “after several interior wall panels came loose while in the air,” American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said.

James Wilson was one of the passengers aboard the Boeing 757.

"All of a sudden there were loud popping sounds and ripping noise," Wilson said in an interview with NBC Bay Area.

The Federal Aviation Administration said earlier that the plane had lost cabin pressure. Miller, the American Airlines spokesman, said the cabin never lost pressure and "oxygen masks were never deployed."

Miller blamed the issue on a blown air duct.

The above photos were taken by Wilson, who also wrote on Facebook that the tear visible in the plane's cabin wall panel opened up while the plane was in the air.

"American Flight 2293 depressurized and started coming apart mid air," Wilson wrote. "Please pray for us."

Wilson said the flight attendants aboard the jet did a good job of keeping everyone calm.

No one was injured, SFO officials said. Miller said the passengers would be put up in hotel rooms.

The FAA will work with the airline to determine the problem before the plane flies again, Gregor said.

American Airlines was scheduled to have another plane fly the passengers back to Dallas on Tuesday morning.

Bay City News contributed to this report.

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