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Passengers were left terrified when their Japan Airlines flight suddenly started ‘plummeting violently’ before making an emergency landing.
The Boeing 737 Flight JL8696/IJ004, operated under a codeshare deal with budget carrier Spring Airlines Japan, dropped 26,000ft in 10 minutes on Monday evening.
The aircraft, due to fly 191 passengers and crew from Shanghai to Tokyo, was diverted to Osaka shortly before 9pm local time.
Video clips posted to social media by shell-shocked travellers once they landed show oxygen masks dropping during the panic-filled descent.
One wrote: ‘My body is still here, but my soul hasn’t caught up. My legs are still shaking. When you face life or death, everything else feels trivial.’
Another commented: ‘The plane started plummeting violently at around 7pm and dropped to 3,000 metres in just 20 minutes.’
Japan’s transport ministry said the aircraft’s alarm system detected an abnormality in the mechanism responsible for maintaining cabin pressure, the Independent reports.
In a statement provided to the outlet, Japan Airlines said: ‘On June 30, Flight JL8696 experienced a malfunction with the cabin pressurisation system, accompanied by an alert indicating an abnormal cabin altitude pressure level.
‘In accordance with emergency procedures, the flight descended to a safe altitude. It is important to clarify that rapid decompression did not occur. However, due to the potential for a decrease in cabin pressure, oxygen masks were deployed as a precautionary measure.
‘The descent was conducted in accordance with standard safety protocols to ensure passenger and crew safety.’
The exact cause of the incident remains under investigation.
None of the passengers or crew were hurt.
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