Passengers hurt after Jet Airways flight loses cabin pressure
Flight 9W 697 carrying 166 passengers landed back in Mumbai after passengers complained of ear pain and nose bleeding.
A Jet Airways flight returned to Mumbai, India, when 30 passengers complained of ear pain and nose-bleeding after the plane lost cabin pressure.
Shortly after takeoff, the flight crew forgot to switch on the cabin pressure system and oxygen masks were deployed, according to India’s civil aviation regulator.
Flight 9W 697, a Boeing 737 aircraft, was carrying 166 passengers when the incident took place.
Those affected were given medical attention while alternative flights were arranged, Jet Airways said.
The flight crew “has been taken off scheduled duties pending investigation”, the company said in a statement.
“The airline is making alternative flight arrangements for guests on its flight,” the statement added.
People on board posted photos and videos of the calamity online, with one purported passenger, Darshak Hathi, uploading footage on Twitter showing travellers using oxygen masks.
Panic situation due to technical fault in @jetairways 9W 0697 going from Mumbai to Jaipur. Flt return back to Mumbai after 45 mts. All passengers are safe including me. pic.twitter.com/lnOaFbcaps
— Darshak Hathi (@DarshakHathi) September 20, 2018
Satish Nair also posted a picture and complained that passengers were not kept informed during the ordeal.
@jetairways Flight 9W 697 made an emergency landing back in Mumbai. Airplane lost pressure immediately after taking off…scores of passengers including me bleeding from nose….no staff to help…no announcement on board to wear the oxygen mask.passengersafety completelyignored pic.twitter.com/vO9O95aMCP
— Satish Nair (@satishnairk) September 20, 2018
India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a tweet it had sought an “immediate report” from official agencies.
MoCA has taken cognizance of the incident in flight 9W 697 earlier today and has requested DGCA to file its report immediately on the issue. The crew is being derostered. Of the 166 people on board, 30 were affected and have been given treatment.
— MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) September 20, 2018
It is the latest in a string of embarrassing incidents for the airline.
In January, two Jet Airways pilots were grounded for getting into a brawl and storming out of the cockpit briefly during a New Year’s Day flight from London to Mumbai.