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Thick Fog Inside Delta Plane Waiting To Take Off For NYC Alarms Passengers

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A foggy sight had passengers on a New York-bound flight concerned this weekend.

That's because the fog was inside the cabin, CBS2's Natalie Duddridge reported Tuesday.

A thick layer of mist was captured on cellphone video inside the cabin of Delta Flight 100, alarming passengers who were flying from Jacksonville, Fla., to John F. Kennedy Airport on Sunday night.

Amanda Goncalves said there was no odor, but the fog lasted for 30 minutes as the plane sat on the tarmac before takeoff. She said she figured it was related to the humid weather, but wished Delta flight attendants would have explained to passengers what it was.

"People were wondering why it was lasting so long. The flight attendants didn't really make an announcement. They just said they were practicing for their Halloween haunted house. They made a joke of it instead of saying it was from the humidity or condensation," Goncalves said.

Goncalves said she could understand how the situation could have made some people uncomfortable.

"I'm not a nervous flyer per se, and neither were the people I was with thank God, but I think if you are somebody who's already anxious to get on a flight and you didn't really necessarily know," said Goncalves. "I understand seeing a little bit of it with the humidity, but this was like a full fog.

"I think that it could've really caused some more insecurities of flying," she added. "And then they were saying, 'Get ready for takeoff,' and it could have definitely caused anxiety for some people."

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Duddridge showed the video to aviation expert Alan Yurman, who said he believes it was condensation, but added he has never seen it that thick.

"It appears to me like they were making fog, like they were making a cloud inside the cabin area," said Yurman, a retired National Transportation Safety Board air safety investigator.

Yurman said though it was a jarring visual, it's not uncommon on a hot and humid day for vapor to pour from vents.

"When the air conditioning system is turned on, and you've got cold air meeting whatever the temperature of the cabin was, you start getting condensation," Yurman said.

Aviation experts told Duddridge passengers are right to ask and should always report anything unusual, regardless if they are a nervous or frequent flier.

Duddridge reached out to Delta, which said the incident was related to humidity and that it is not required to report it to the Federal Aviation Administration.

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