Passengers on a routine Virgin Australia flight from Sydney to Brisbane were horrified when their plane dropped 28,000ft.
Flight VA993 lost cabin pressure just 40 minutes after taking off at 8.30pm on Thursday.
About 40 minutes into the journey, the Boeing 737-800 plunged from 37,000ft to under 10,000ft, as pilots made an emergency call to air traffic control.
It continued at that altitude until it landed safely in Brisbane.
Footage from onboard the aircraft showed oxygen masks hanging from the overhead cabin compartments.
Flight attendants could be seen working to calm passengers.
A Virgin Australia spokesman said the flight landed safely in Brisbane despite the ‘depressurisation event’.
‘The flight crew took the appropriate steps, following standard operating procedures, to descend to a lower altitude,’ the spokesman said.
Oxygen masks were deployed on a Virgin flight when the plane plunged 28,000ft on Thursday night (pictured)
Crew members on the aircraft worked to calm terrified passengers (above, oxygen masks deployed on the domestic flight)
‘As part of that process, a PAN call was transmitted to Air Traffic Control.’
An emergency PAN call is a standard call for assistance in an urgent situation. It differs from a Mayday call, which is only issued in a life-threatening situation.
One passenger on the flight sent a urgent message to her husband when the plane began to lose altitude.
Haley told her husband ‘plane’s dropping’ in a text message, according to Channel 10.
‘Emergency landing – love you,’ she wrote.
Altitude graphs from Flightradar24 showed the plane reaching a peak altitude of 37,000 feet before its steep descent.
The Virgin spokesman said no passengers or crew members were injured in the incident.
He said the aircraft will be investigated by engineers and the airline would review the situation against their safety standards.
More to come.
Flightradar24 altitude data showed the plane reaching a peak of 37,000ft before dropping (above)
