Passengers aboard a Japan Airlines flight experienced sheer terror on Monday as their Boeing 737 aircraft plummeted nearly 26,000 feet due to a sudden mechanical malfunction.
Flight JL8696, en route from Shanghai Pudong Airport to Tokyo’s Narita Airport, was forced to make an emergency descent after a pressurization system failure triggered a cabin alert and the release of oxygen masks. The plane dropped from 36,000 feet to just under 10,500 feet in less than 10 minutes, according to Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
Amid the chaos, passengers reported scenes of panic, with some hurriedly writing wills and goodbye letters, fearing a crash. One passenger told local media, “The stewardess cried and shouted to put on the oxygen mask, saying the plane had a malfunction.”
Another traveler recalled, “Suddenly, all the oxygen masks popped open while I was sleeping.” The rapid drop in altitude reportedly left many fearing loss of consciousness.
The flight’s captain declared an emergency and diverted the plane to Kansai International Airport in Osaka, where it landed safely at 8:50 p.m. local time. All 191 passengers and crew onboard were unharmed.
As a goodwill gesture, Japan Airlines offered passengers 15,000 yen (approx. $93) in compensation and arranged overnight accommodations.
The incident comes as Boeing faces mounting scrutiny over recent safety concerns. Just last month, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad and a separate ground collision involving a Boeing aircraft in Vietnam have fueled criticism of the aerospace giant. In another high-profile case last year, an Alaska Airlines flight suffered a mid-air emergency when a side door detached.
Japanese aviation authorities have launched a formal investigation into the latest incident to determine the precise cause of the pressurization failure.
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