United flight 443 takes off for BWI 20 minutes before LAX shooting

Passengers alarmed to hear of shooting at airport

LINTHICUM, Md. —A flight of passengers who missed the shooting at Los Angeles International Airport arrived in Maryland late Friday afternoon.

The passengers aboard United flight 443 were flying from Los Angeles to Baltimore for a number of reasons from parents weekend at Johns Hopkins University to a lacrosse recruiting tournament. Timing was very much on their side as their flight took off about 20 minutes before the shooting began.

Some passengers learned about what happened while in flight en route to Baltimore.

"We were in the flight just about over probably Arizona and we heard that there was a shooting at LAX. Crazy. We had to look at it twice to make sure, 'Is that really LA?'" said Kevin Kodzis, a passenger.

Two high school lacrosse players shared the same shock.

"I could have been in that security line, I could have been there when it happened. It's just really crazy thinking I just missed something like that happening so it was really intense for me," said David McCann, a passenger.

"It's just scary because you just never know what's happening these days when you're traveling," said Scott Spencer, a Columbia resident.

A couple heading to Johns Hopkins to see their freshman daughter got the news when they arrived at the airport.

"Immediately upon landing, someone in front of us said, 'Did you hear there was a shooting at LAX?' And, when we turned on our phones, there were a lot of messages from home," said Diane Elander, a passenger.

"This happened in a place where everybody comes in. When do you start checking people to make it safe? That's the real issue, I think," said Troy Elander, a passenger.

Waiting for luggage, passengers found themselves pondering familiar questions once again.

"Do you have to look at gun laws again? Do you have to have screening outside? Do you have to go to cameras? You're not going to be able to stop every crazy person, unfortunately," Diane Elander said.

The passengers with whom 11 News spoke said they have no plans on changing how they travel, but they have a whole new sense of their own personal luck.