Things got worse last Saturday over South Korea, as the Boeing 737 MAX was en route from Incheon to Taichung (Taiwan).
Fifty minutes later, the plane lost cabin air pressure, a Korean Air spokesperson told the South China Morning Post today. There were 125 people on board.
The pilots followed protocol and descended quickly because the air at high altitudes is very thin. Passengers can only breathe there for a short time without assistive devices, which is why the oxygen masks were removed:
In five minutes, the plane descended from an altitude of approximately ten kilometers to less than three thousand metres. This is “very unpleasant,” an aviation expert previously explained to RTL News. “It hurts your ears.”
On board the Boeing in Korea, the change in air pressure was so great that seventeen people were injured. All were provided with assistance and no one was seriously injured in the incident.
Accidents
It is not clear why the pressure drops. In recent months, much attention has been paid to accidents involving Boeing aircraft. Many planes have lost parts in the air, such as emergency slides or parts of the engine cover, wheels, or door panel. Last month, turbulence occurred on a flight between London and Singapore, killing one person.
