SEAToday.com, Incheon - A Korean Air flight bound for Taiwan was forced to turn back and make an emergency landing after a pressurization system failure caused the plane to plummet almost 27,000ft (8,200m) within minutes.
The incident happened on Saturday (6/22) evening after the flight departed from Incheon International Airport. Local news reported that the aircraft, Boeing 737 Max 8, detected a pressurization fault while flying over Jeju Island. Roughly 50 minutes following the take off, the plane sharply descended 8,200m in just 15 minutes.
The flight circled back three hours after takeoff, landing at around 7.40 PM at the Incheon airport. Due to the incident, a number of people suffered from ear pain and hyperventilation and 17 passengers were brought to hospital. Despite the frightening ordeal, there were no severe injuries reported.
The Korea Air spokesperson said the company is investigating the incident. The aircraft will also be put under maintenance following an inspection.
