British Airways Passengers Told Of Crash Landing By Mistake

Passengers aboard British Airways flight 0206 got a rude awakening at 3 a.m. Saturday when an announcement warned them to prepare for an emergency water landing.

The announcement was met by fearful screams and tears. But, in reality, the passengers were safely cruising at 35,000 feet, somewhere between Miami and London, reports The Telegraph.

"My wife was crying and passengers were screaming. Then they played an announcement telling us to just ignore the warnings," a passenger told the paper.

The flight crew reassured passengers that the warning was played in error, but some think the response was not enough. Passengers Duncan and Tracey Farquharson told The Daily Mail that "staff issued a 'blase' apology and did not explain exactly what the error was until hours later, when they were landing at Heathrow."

An airline spokesperson said the company apologizes for causing "undue concern." Apology letters were handed out to passengers upon landing.

However, this isn't the first time such an incident happened on a British Airways flight. In August 2010, passengers on a London to Hong Kong flight were also mistakenly told to prepare for a crash into the sea.