Accounts on Twitter, the micro-blogging site, from other people saying they were passengers on the plane corroborated Ms. Abney's account.

WSJ: Flight Attendant Causes a Scare on Plane

Passenger Hannah Abney said the attendant first began telling passengers about mechanical problems on the airplane and then drifted into grimmer topics.

WSJ: Flight Attendant Causes a Scare on Plane

Abney said UPS's initial order is for seven hydraulic hybrid trucks.

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"As she continued to speak, it became more erratic and more clear that something was wrong with her, " Ms. Abney, 31 years old, said in an interview.

WSJ: Flight Attendant Causes a Scare on Plane

One of the first recipients of the award money will be Abney Park cemetery in Hackney, London, which is working to create a green community space in the inner city.

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Ms. Abney said the attendant referred to the bankruptcy.

WSJ: Flight Attendant Causes a Scare on Plane

Yet according to Mr Abney, all that has changed.

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