Internet and Plane Passengers Stumped Over 'Annoying' Noise on Board Flight

Passengers on flights often have to contend with infuriating noises, whether it's a screaming baby, loud eaters or people speaking so loudly that the whole plane can hear their conversation.

Unfortunately for Paul Marks, a recent flight from his hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland, to Leeds, U.K., was plagued by an unknown beeping sound throughout the entire journey.

The eventful Aer Lingus Regional flight, operated by Emerald Airlines, on August 10 became memorable for all the wrong reasons, with Marks telling Newsweek that it was "a 50-minute flight on the wild side."

"It was a similar noise to when the pilot raises the slats and flaps, but it just didn't stop," he continued.

"It kind of became background noise after 20 minutes, but then the pitch and volume would change randomly at different times, which made it become worrying and annoying in equal measure."

Newsweek has reached out to Emerald Airlines for comment about the incident.

The sound could be heard throughout the entire flight, which is why Marks believes his fellow passengers didn't seem too distressed by it. "If it had just started at a random time, maybe more people would have been worried," he added.

However, the sight of the cabin crew scouring the overhead lockers for the source of the noise was slightly alarming for some. Marks is still unsure what the cause of the noise was, but it's made an interesting story to share.

"I think others were only getting worried when the flight crew began searching the overhead bins with a flashlight and recording the noise on their cellphones to bring back to the pilots."

Founded in 2020, Emerald Airlines is Ireland's newest regional airline. As of March 2023, Aer Lingus Regional had flown over 1 million passengers since the partnership with Emerald was formed 12 months prior, according to the company.

Footage from the flight was shared by Marks on his Reddit account, u/pharxy on September 11, adding that the sound "only stopped after we landed."

The post attracted plenty of attention, and accumulated over 1,800 votes, and hundreds of comments. Many Reddit users have been left wondering what might have caused the sound during the flight.

Reaction to the post has been unlike anything he could have imagined, telling Newsweek that it's "the most upvotes [he's] ever got." Many Redditors have shared their own theories for what they believe could have caused the noise, as Marks joked that he's received a wide array of possible options.

"I love some of the answers though, from all-out weird to some hilarious ones. The so-called experts all seem to have differing answers which are quickly debunked by the next Redditor. But, by far all the comments have been really lovely," he said.

Among the many comments on the post, Reddit user u/NyJosh wrote: "Almost sounds like the electric motors that raise and lower flaps etc, but going nuts and not stopping."

A comment by u/Upper-Wind-2055 reads: "Yeah, sounds a bit like the hydraulic system is trying to keep up with a leak, either fluid or accumulator pressure."

Newsweek reached out to Emerald Airlines on 9/15 through their website for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.

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