Passengers recount flight horror
ALARM More than two dozen passengers were treated for injuries after their plane lost cabin pressure and returned to Mumbai We were covering our ears and holding the oxygen mask with our hands but it was still intolerable
ANKUR KALA , Passenger
MUMBAI : Mumbai-based professional Darshak Hathi flies three times a week but never had as harrowing experience as he had on his Thursday morning flight to Jaipur.
Hathi was one of 166 people on board a Jet Airways MumbaiJaipur flight, which returned about 50 minutes after takeoff because the cabin crew forgot to put on a key switch that maintains cabin pressure. Hathi and other passengers reported screams and cries of fear as the aircraft climbed, with the emergency oxygen masks eventually coming down.
“I had severe headache due to the low cabin pressure. We were all surprised when the oxygen masks got deployed. Most of us felt that there was no oxygen being deployed from the mask due to which we continued to feel uneasy. Though the next flight did not have any such issue, the cascading effect continued to trouble us. I travel thrice in a week, but I had never experienced such an ear pain before.”
The airline said it has taken its flight’s cockpit crew off scheduled duties until an investigation into the incident is completed.
“I hope that such a situation never occur in the future. There was no response in the first flight that took off from Mumbai. Cabin crew just regretted the inconvenience and delay in the alternative flight,” Hathi said at Jaipur airport later.
Satish Nair, a passenger who reported bleeding from his nose, was on business trip. He said the crew members did not handle the situation well.
There were 166 passengers and seven crew members, including five attendants, on board the flight.
A passenger said after the flight landed in Mumbai, they were separated into two groups, with those with nose and ear bleeds promised priority transport to the terminal.
“However, they were made to wait . Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), the company that runs Mumbai airport) had deployed just one ambulance on the tarmac for us.”
Mumbai International Airport Limited did not respond.
Of the passengers, 144 traveled to Jaipur via an alternative flight of the airline, while 17 of them wished to travel at another point in time. Five of the passengers were taken to Dr Balabai Nanavati Hospital, Vile Parle.
“The five patients, all males, have mild conductive deafness, a temporary condition which is likely to take a week or 10 days to heal. They are advised not to fly till then. They are undergoing all required tests,” said Nanavati Hospital’s chief operating officer Rajendra Patankar.
Another passenger Ankur Kala, who suffered nasal bleeding, said oxygen masks were deployed about 15 minutes after takeoff but there were no announcements or instructions from the crew. “We were covering our ears and holding the oxygen mask with our hands but it was still intolerable…when I removed my mask it was full of blood. I told my co-passengers that I am bleeding and waved to the air hostess, but she told me to remain seated and that all is normal,” Kala said. Before an aircraft takes off, it undergoes checks for engine instruments, electrical instruments, lighting and auto pilot.
After the checks are conducted, the engine is switched on and the aircraft pushes back after it receives taxiway clearance.
Jet Airways Mumbai-jaipur flight 9W-697, with 166 passengers and seven crew members on board, took off at 6.16am from Mumbai. After crossing 8,000 feet and at the time of reaching 12,000 feet, the pilot contacted the Mumbai air traffic control (ATC) and informed he would be maintaining this height due to ‘technical problem’.
Minutes after this communication, the pilot contacted Mumbai ATC to inform that he wanted to land back at Mumbai due to a technical error.
The flight returned to Mumbai airport at 7.04am and was parked at a remote bay.
The pilot contacted the ATC to ask for an ambulance on the tarmac.
After changing the aircraft and assisting the passengers with first aid, boarding for the flight started at around 9.30am. The flight was to originally land at Jaipur by 7.50am.
The flight took off at 11.07am with a changed aircraft. The bleed switch allows the aircraft to take in air from engine to provide air conditioning and cabin pressure.
When the aircraft is on full weight or with aheavy load, the pilots sometimes opt to shut off the bleed switch for maximum thrust, but switch it back on immediately during the climb.
In the case of the Jet Airways Mumbai-jaipur flight 9W-697, according to experts, the pilots may have switched off the bleed switch due to heavy load and allegedly forgot to switch it back on.
The pilots get a warning signal at 10,000 feet if the cabin pressure is low and at 14,000 feet, oxygen masks are automatically deployed. be equivalent to a climb of only 300 or 400 feet so that it is comfortable for the occupants.
But without pressurisation, if the aircraft climbs 2,000 feet per minute (as per the normal speed), the human body cannot cope with a change of more than 700 feet per minute.
Cabin pressure is regulated by bleed switches in the aircraft. In this case, the crew forgot to select the bleed switch because of which the cabin was not pressurised. This is why passengers complained of pain and bleeding pressure in the ear and nose.