Japan Airlines' Boeing 737 Dropped 26,000 Feet In Minutes

Passengers in a Japan Airlines flight from China’s Shanghai to Japan's capital, Tokyo, reportedly went through a terrible scare as it was forced to deploy oxygen masks after the Boeing 737 plane dropped nearly 26,000 feet.

The flight took off on June 30 from Shanghai Pudong Airport in China for Tokyo Narita Airport. According to the South China Morning Post, 191 people were onboard. The flight landed safely in Osaka at 8:50 PM local time. Nobody was reported injured due to the incident.

According to an Associated Press report, the plane suddenly experienced a mid-air mechanical issue and rapidly descended from approximately 36,000 feet to just under 10,500 feet within 10 minutes. The incident happened at approximately 6:53 PM local time.

Passengers feared the plane would crash as oxygen masks were released amid fears the change in pressure levels could cause some people to lose consciousness, the report said.

“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,” AP quoted a passenger as saying.

While some passengers were sleeping, others started writing wills and sent their PINs and insurance details to their loved ones. Another terrified passenger recalled being on “the verge of tears”.

According to the AP report, an alert indicating an abnormality in the aircraft's pressurisation system was triggered amid the descent. The plane was diverted to Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan, after the pilot declared an emergency to air traffic control.

The affected passengers were offered 15,000 yen ($93) in transportation compensation and one night of accommodation. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of this incident.

Boeing planes have come under intense scrutiny since the Ahmedabad plane crash of last month which killed more than 270 people, including 241 of the 242 people onboard the Ahmedabad-London flight.

Several Boeing 737 and 737 Max flights had experienced incidents in the past. Boeing had last year agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with winning regulatory approval of the Max.