Terrified plane passengers write notes to loved ones as Boeing plummets 25,000 feet in minutes
The Spring Airlines Japan flight from Shanghai to Tokyo on Monday night was cruising at 36,000 feet with 191 passengers and crew when it suddenly dropped to just under 10,500 feet, according to officials, blaming an unspecified mechanical issue.
Terrifying footage shows panicked passengers clutching their oxygen masks — as some even lost consciousness.
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3 Terrified passengers recalled writing notes to loved ones as their plane plummeted 25,000 feet in minutes.
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'I heard a muffled boom and the oxygen mask fell off in a few seconds. The stewardess cried and shouted to put on the oxygen mask, saying the plane had a malfunction,' one passenger said.
'Suddenly, all the oxygen masks popped open while I was sleeping,' a second said.
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Another passenger recalled being on 'the verge of tears' as they wrote their will and the details of their life insurance and bank card PINs, thinking they were facing certain death.
3 Oxygen masks dropped as cabin crew made emergency announcements.
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An alert indicating an abnormality in cabin pressure was triggered amid the ascent, Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said.
The flight, which had taken off from Shanghai Pudong Airport on Monday, was forced to make an emergency landing at Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan.
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3 The Boeing 737 Spring Airlines Japan flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Osaka.
Markus Mainka – stock.adobe.com
No injuries were reported when the aircraft landed in the southern Japanese city at around 8:50 p.m. local time, just under two hours after the oxygen masks were deployed.
Those on board were offered the equivalent of $104 in transportation compensation and given one night of free accommodation.
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An investigation has been launched to determine the cause.
Japan Airlines and Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
With Post wires.
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