Passengers on Mumbai-Jaipur Jet Airways flight start bleeding after cabin pressure drops
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said the crew had forgotten to switch on the system to maintain cabin pressure. The crew has been grounded.
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At least 30 passengers on a Jet Airways flights from Mumbai to Jaipur on Thursday started bleeding from their nose and ears after the crew forgot to switch on the system to maintain cabin pressure, PTI reported. The Boeing 737 aircraft returned to Mumbai due to a “loss of cabin pressure”, according to a Jet Airways statement.
There were 166 passengers and five crew members on board the flight.
All the passengers were treated at the Mumbai airport, but five of them were taken to Dr Balabhai Nanavati Hospital for a medical check where doctors said they suffered from mild conductive deafness, PTI reported.
Chief Operating Officer of the hospital Rajendra Patankar said preliminary tests showed the five passengers suffered barotrauma of ear, which is caused due to a change in air pressure. Mild conductive deafness is a temporary condition which is likely to take a week or 10 days to heal. “They are advised not to fly till then,” Patankar said. They were later discharged as their health condition was stable and they did not need to be admitted, he said.
“The 9W 697 Mumbai-Jaipur flight was turned back to Mumbai after take off as during the climb crew forgot to select switch to maintain cabin pressure,” said Deputy Director General of DGCA Lalit Gupta, according to the Hindustan Times. “This resulted in the oxygen masks dropping. Thirty out of 166 passengers experienced nose and ear bleeding, some also complained of headache.”
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has initiated an investigation. “The flight’s cockpit crew has been taken off scheduled duties pending investigation,” an unidentified Jet Airways spokesperson told ANI.
An unnamed officer of the Aircraft Investigation Bureau said that one of the pilots is a captain with more than five years of experience, reported PTI. The officer added that the incident could be a case of negligence on the part of the pilots since controlling cabin pressure control is part of a check before operating a flight.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has taken cognisance of the incident and directed the DGCA to file its report immediately, ANI reported.
The flight was re-scheduled to take off from Mumbai at 10.15 am, reported ANI.
The crew has been taken off duty and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has started an investigation: Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) https://t.co/7jfOAFsugk
— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2018
"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.passengers safety completely ignored : @satishnairk @jetairways" pic.twitter.com/WXklVaDhIq
— Tarun Shukla (@shukla_tarun) September 20, 2018
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
When your flight to Jaipur was more like your flight to hell! #Pressurecooked #midairscare #JetAirways @MirrorNow pic.twitter.com/PzAnI3TbN6
— Joel D'Souza (@jdjoeld) September 20, 2018
Oxygen masks came out but no one gave us warning or instructions. They announced after 15 minutes that we're landing but didn't even tell where. It was very scary: Passengers of Jet Airways Mumbai-Jaipur flight (that suffered cabin pressure loss today) after landing in Jaipur pic.twitter.com/R33UZoT5oe
— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2018