Jerrold Smith II was 90 minutes from Dallas when the lights went out on his Delta flight and the attendants started visiting the exit rows

TV personality Jerrold Smith II thought he was in for another routine trip on a recent Delta flight from Los Angeles to Dallas, a route he has taken many times for work. Instead, he was jolted awake mid-flight by what he described as an “alarmingly loud” humming noise. As detailed by BroBible, he shared the experience in a TikTok video that has resonated with a wide audience of nervous flyers.

The cabin deteriorated quickly after the noise began. The WiFi dropped, the seatback screens went dark, and the cabin lights started flickering. Flight attendants began moving through the aisles in a frantic manner, and crew communication with passengers was initially nonexistent. Smith noted, “Literally, no one was telling us s—.”

When the crew finally addressed the cabin, they acknowledged they did not know the source of the noise and informed passengers the flight was beginning its descent into Dallas. That detail alarmed Smith: they were still roughly 90 minutes from their destination.

The emergency procedures that passengers usually tune out suddenly mattered

The situation escalated when a flight attendant confirmed the plane had lost power and instructed everyone to brace for landing. Crew members began consulting passengers seated in the exit rows, a sight that sharpened the reality of what was happening. Smith began texting his wife and mother, uncertain whether the messages would send. They did, though he landed to a flood of panicked replies.

A co-worker on the same flight later identified the noise as an emergency fail-safe mechanism. According to SKYbrary, what likely deployed was a Ram Air Turbine, or RAT, a small device installed on aircraft that generates emergency power from the airstream. It deploys automatically during a complete loss of electrical power and is designed to keep critical systems such as flight controls and navigation running. The FAA, which has also seen a separate in-flight emergency draw scrutiny this year, confirmed to ABC7 that Delta Flight 521 experienced generator problems.

Delta confirmed that the cabin temporarily lost power, that the crew followed established procedures to restore it, and that an emergency was declared as a precaution. All 131 passengers and six crew members landed safely. Smith credited the crew directly, saying, “It was probably the only time I actually participated in clapping once a plane landed.”

His frustration with Delta’s follow-up was less generous. The airline’s response came in the form of an apology email, which he described as inadequate. He quipped, “I ain’t never drafted an email to them faster, like, I’mma need some reparations or something big dog.” Aviation authorities have faced heightened public attention following several recent incidents, including two Navy jets’ midair collision at an air show in Idaho, where all four crew members ejected safely.

The comments section on Smith’s video captured a range of reactions, with one viewer writing, “My soul would have left my body,” and another adding, “I’m about to be deathly afraid of planes now.”