Passengers aboard a Delta Air Lines flight on Sept. 15 were left with bloody noses and ears as their plane failed to pressurize on their way to Portland, Oregon, from Salt Lake City.
An airline spokesperson said Flight 1203, a Boeing 737-900ER, was unable to pressurize above 10,000 feet, leading to injuries. There were 140 customers aboard, the company said in a statement to NTD News.
“We sincerely apologize to our customers for their experience on flight 1203 on Sept. 15. The flight crew followed procedures to return to [Salt Lake City] where our teams on the ground supported our customers with their immediate needs,” the statement said.
Caryn Allen, a passenger on the flight, told NBC affiliate KSL-TV it didn’t take long for people to notice there was something wrong with Flight 1203, after noticing her husband in pain.
“I looked over at my husband, and he had both of his hands over his ears, you know, kind of leaning forward,” Allen said.
She said she noticed others in pain including a man with a bloody nose a row behind her, on the opposite aisle.
According to Delta, 10 passengers on the plane asked for medical treatment or to be checked for injuries and were met with medical personnel at the gate.
They were offered transportation to local hospitals or medical facilities.
Another passenger, Jaci Purser, said she could feel a sharp pain in her ear before it popped from the cabin pressure.
“I grabbed my ear, and I pulled my hand back, and there was blood on it,” she told KSL-TV.
Oxygen masks never deployed during the incident, Delta said.
In the same statement, airline officials said technicians were able to fix the pressurization issue and the plane was put back into service on Sept. 16.
A reason for the pressurization issue wasn’t provided.
The mishap is the second in recent weeks for the airline. On Sept. 10 a Delta Air Lines Flight bound for Tokyo clipped the tail of a small plane at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport while taxiing for departure.
In a statement, Delta said the wing of an Airbus A350, which is a larger plane used for international trips, clipped the tail of a smaller plane that was bound for Lafayette, Louisiana. No injuries were reported.
Both incidents are being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration, according to a statement by the agency.