Passengers Injured After Flight Crew Forgets to Pressurize Cabin

Apparently the cabin crew forgot to flip the switch to keep the cabin pressurized.


An airline crew on a flight over Mumbai forgot to pressurize the airplane’s cabin, causing dozens of passengers to suffer nosebleeds, headaches, and unconsciousness. After an emergency landing, five passengers were taken to the hospital, although they suffered no permanent injuries.

The flight in question was Jet Airways Flight 9W 697 from Mumbai to Jaipur. The flight took off at around 6 a.m. local time, and almost immediately passengers started experienced the symptoms of hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation. At first passengers reported tingling and pain in some extremities like ears and fingers, and then began struggling to breathe.

About five minutes after takeoff, oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling, and passengers began putting them on. However, many passengers started experiencing more severe effects like nosebleeds and blackouts before the oxygen masks were deployed.


According to India’s Deputy Prime Minister Lalit Gupta, the cabin crew forgot to flip a switch to pressurize the cabin after takeoff. Once the crew realized what was happening, the plane was diverted back to Mumbai airport, where the plane landed an hour after takeoff. After landing, the passengers were taken back to the terminal, where they received medical attention.

Many passengers are upset not only at what they suffered while in the air, but also at how Jet Airways responded once they were on the ground. According to passengers, the airline didn’t have any medical personnel at the plane itself, and they had to travel to the terminal to get treatment. A statement released by the airline makes no mention of the mistake and contains no apology to passengers.

Source: Washington Post

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