30 passengers on board Jaipur flight suffer nose, ear bleeding

ISLAMABAD: At least 30 passengers on a Jet Airways flight from Mumbai to Jaipur in India suffered nose and ear bleeding on Thursday after the crew ‘forgot’ to turn on a switch that controls cabin air pressure, officials said.

The cockpit crew of the flight, which had 171 people on board, has been taken off duty and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) was directed to probe the incident. An AAIB official told media that the incident could be a case of negligence on the part of the pilots since controlling cabin pressure is part of a critical checks before operating a flight.

One of the pilots of the flight, which returned to Mumbai airport after being airborne for around 23 minutes, is a captain with more than five years of experience, sources said. "During climb, the crew forgot to maintain the cabin pressure. As a result, oxygen masks got deployed," the official at aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), said.

The Boeing 737 aircraft returned to Mumbai due to 'loss of cabin pressure' and the pilots were taken off duty pending investigation, a Jet Airways spokesperson said. According to media reports citing initial information, the official said a few passengers had nose bleeding.

"Out of 166 passengers on board, 30 passengers are affected... some have nose bleeding, a few have ear bleeding and some are complaining of headache," he added. There were 166 passengers and five crew members on board flight 9W697. The officials in Mumbai said five passengers, who suffered nose and ear bleeding, were diagnosed with 'mild conductive deafness' and later discharged from hospital.

As per their examination by ENT doctors, the five passengers suffered 'barotraumas' of ear, which is caused due to a change in air pressure, he said. "I was sitting on an aisle seat when suddenly air pressure in the cabin dropped and oxygen masks came down. I saw a passenger sitting next to me bleeding from the nose. Several others complained of extreme pain in their ears," Mumbai-based professional Peasant Sharma, who was in the flight, said in Jaipur. He landed there in an alternative flight.

Of the 166 people on board, 30 were affected and have been given treatment,' the ministry said in a tweet. Against the backdrop of recent incidents related to safety of air passengers, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu Thursday ordered a safety audit of all the scheduled airlines and airports.