Passengers pen goodbye notes as plane plummets 25,000 feet
Shocking footage shows some passengers unconscious as a Boeing plane plunges 25,000 feet in just 10 minutes.
A Boeing passenger plane plummeted more than 25,000 feet (7.62 kilometres) in just 10 minutes — leaving some of the nearly 200 on-board unconscious, and others sending heart-wrenching goodbyes to their loved ones.
The Spring Airlines Japan flight from Shanghai to Tokyo on Monday night was cruising at 36,000 feet (10.97 kilometres) with 191 passengers and crew when it suddenly dropped to just under 10,500 feet (3.2 kilometres), according to officials, blaming an unspecified mechanical issue.
Terrifying footage shows panicked passengers clutching their oxygen masks — as some even lost consciousness.
“I heard a muffled boom and the oxygen mask fell off in a few seconds.
The stewardess cried and shouted to put on the oxygen mask, saying the plane had a malfunction,” one passenger said.
“Suddenly, all the oxygen masks popped open while I was sleeping,” a second said.
Another passenger recalled being on “the verge of tears” as they wrote their will and the details of their life insurance and bank card PINs, thinking they were facing certain death.
An alert indicating an abnormality in cabin pressure was triggered amid the ascent, Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said.
The flight, which had taken off from Shanghai Pudong Airport on Monday, was forced to make an emergency landing at Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan.
No injuries were reported when the aircraft landed in the southern Japanese city at around 8:50pm local time, just under two hours after the oxygen masks were deployed.
Those on board were offered the equivalent of $104 in transportation compensation and given one night of free accommodation.
An investigation has been launched to determine the cause.
Japan Airlines and Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
This story first appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.
Female passengers fight with man on plane
This is the moment a wild brawl erupted on-board a flight after a group of female passengers reportedly refused to keep quiet when the lights were dimmed.
Qantas flight forced into sudden landing
A Qantas flight with 63 passengers on board has been forced into a sudden change of course and landing in rural Victoria.
Fire breaks out on Sydney flight mid-air
A fire erupted mid-air on a Virgin Australia flight from Sydney, leaving the cabin filled with smoke.