An incident on a Korean Air flight has left 17 people injured after the Boeing airplane suddenly dropped 25,000 feet.
On Saturday afternoon, Korean Air 189 departed Seoul, South Korea, heading to Taichung, Taiwan, at around 4 p.m. local time.
The flight had just reached the southern tip of the Korean peninsula when it was forced to head back due to a problem with the plane's pressurization system. Visuals of the cabin of the Korean Air Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft (HL8352), that departed Incheon and was heading to Taiwan, but returned back to Seoul (ICN)/ Runway 16R owing to pressurization issues.#aircraft #airlines #safety https://t.co/sZgLb3dni2 pic.twitter.com/bIwMkPY2hL
— FL360aero (@fl360aero) June 24, 2024
Fox Business reports:According to FlightAware, the aircraft was a Boeing 737 MAX 8. Yonhap News Agency reported that the diversion was caused by a problem with the plane's pressurization system.
During the diversion, the aircraft made a steep 25,000-foot descent — roughly 4.75 miles — over the course of around eight minutes, injuring roughly 17 of the flight's 125 passengers.
FlightAware data shows that the airplane appeared to fly in an oval shape several times before it headed back to Seoul. The plane landed shortly after 7:30 p.m. local time. 🚨🇰🇷🇰🇵Breaking a Korean aircraft had a pressurization malfunction in the cabin causing 13 people to be injured with nosebleeds and ear aches
Fifteen of the injured passengers reported hyperventilating and eardrum pain, according to South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
The pilot quickly descended from 30,000 feet to 10,000 and made an emergency landing 13 passengers were taken to the hospital. pic.twitter.com/xuHMdYf0lq
— Todd Paron🇺🇸🇬🇷🎧👽 (@tparon) June 23, 2024
All of the injured passengers have since been discharged.
In a statement provided to Fox Business, Korean Air said it is "fully cooperating with all relevant authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident." Terrified passengers are forced to use oxygen masks as Korean Air flight drops 27,000ft in 15 minutes leaving 17 injured after the Boeing 737 Max 8 suffered fault in cabin pressure system
Terrified passengers were forced to use oxygen masks after a Korea Air flight dropped… pic.twitter.com/F36hTzw6MO
— Owen Gregorian (@OwenGregorian) June 25, 2024
"Our commitment to the safety and well-being of our passengers and crew remains unchanged," the Korea Air spokesperson continued. "We apologize to all affected by this incident."
Boeing has not commented on the incident.
