30 passengers on Jet Airways left bleeding after crew forgets to maintain cabin pressure

New Delhi, Sep 20: A Jet Airways Mumbai-Jaipur flight was turned back to Mumbai mid-air on Thursday as, the crew forgot to select switch to maintain cabin pressure. 30 out of 166 passengers experienced nose & ear bleeding, some also complained of headache.

A video has been shared by Twitter user Darshak Hathi, showing passengers using the deployed oxygen masks on air.

"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. This resulted in the oxygen masks dropping. Thirty out of 166 passengers experienced nose and ear bleeding, some also complained of headache," Lalit Gupta, deputy director general, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), said.

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that the crew has been taken off duty and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has started an investigation.

Oxygen masks were deployed. Many passengers have complained of headache. All the affected passengers are being attended to by the doctors at the airport.

What happens if an airplane loses cabin pressure?

Aircraft cabins are pressurised using cooled and filtered air bled from the engines, keeping the air pressure inside the cabin at the equivalent of an altitude of 8,000ft - even though commercial aircraft often fly at 40,000 ft.

If a plane loses cabin pressure at altitude, the passengers suffocate unless they have an alternate source of oxygen. That's why you put those little masks on -immediately- if they drop down during your flight.