Terrified passengers write out wills as Japan Airlines’ Boeing 737 plummets sharply in minutes

Passengers in a Japan Airlines flight from China’s Shanghai to Japan’s capital, Tokyo, reportedly went through a terrible scare as it was forced to deploy oxygen masks after the Boeing 737 plane dropped nearly 26,000 feet.

A Boeing Co. 737-846 aircraft operated by Japan Airlines is seen on the tarmac.(Bloomberg File)

The flight took off on June 30 from Shanghai Pudong Airport in China for Tokyo Narita Airport. The plane operated under a codeshare agreement between Japan Airlines and Spring Japan, the carrier’s low-cost subsidiary. According to the South China Morning Post, 191 people were onboard.

According to an Associated Press report, the plane suddenly experienced a mid-air mechanical issue and rapidly descended from approximately 36,000 feet to just under 10,500 feet within 10 minutes. The incident happened at approximately 6:53 PM local time.

Passengers feared the plane would crash as oxygen masks were released amid fears the change in pressure levels could cause some people to lose consciousness, the report said.

“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,” AP quoted a passenger as saying.

Passengers started writing wills

Some passengers were sleeping when the terrifying descent happened. Others started writing their wills and sent their PINs and insurance details to their loved ones.

“Suddenly, all the oxygen masks popped open while I was sleeping,” a passenger said.

Another terrified passenger recalled being on “the verge of tears” as they wrote their will and penned details of their insurance and bank card PINs.

The terrifying moment that passengers were made to put on oxygen masks was captured on video. Panicked passengers can be seen in the footage clutching onto their masks as a flight attendant makes an announcement.

Plane diverted to Osaka, investigation launched

According to the AP report, an alert indicating an abnormality in the aircraft’s pressurisation system was triggered amid the descent. The plane was diverted to Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan, after the pilot declared an emergency to air traffic control.

The flight landed safely in Osaka at 8:50 PM local time. Nobody was reported injured due to the incident.

The affected passengers were offered 15,000 yen ($93) in transportation compensation and one night of accommodation. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of this incident.

Boeing planes under scanner

Boeing planes have come under intense scrutiny since the Ahmedabad plane crash of last month, which killed more than 270 people, including 241 of the 242 people onboard the Ahmedabad-London flight.

Several other near-mishaps have been reported since then, with almost all of them involving a Boeing plane.