The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after a Delta Air Lines flight leaving Salt Lake City last weekend developed cabin pressure issues, causing some passengers to experience bleeding eardrums, headaches, and bloody noses. The flight was en route from Salt Lake City to Portland, Oregon, when pilots of the five-year-old Boeing 737-900ER noticed a pressurization problem and made an emergency landing back in Utah’s capital, according to the flight log.
Passengers reported noticing people bleeding as the plane descended over the Great Salt Lake. Though the pilots announced they were returning to the airport, they did not immediately explain the reason, said passenger Caryn Allen. Notably, oxygen masks did not deploy during the incident.
Allen described how her husband covered his ears in pain while other passengers tried to assist a man on the other side of the aisle who had an uncontrollable bloody nose. Another passenger, Jaci Purser, shared her distressing experience, saying it felt like someone was stabbing her inner ear. “I grabbed my ear, and I pulled my hand back, and there was blood on it,” she said.
Upon landing, paramedics met the passengers at the gate and identified at least 10 people out of the 140 on the flight who required medical attention. Medical personnel recommended that anyone bleeding seek further evaluation at a hospital, and Delta offered to cover the transportation costs for affected passengers.
Delta issued an apology, stating, “We sincerely apologize to our customers for their experience on flight 1203 on Sept. 15. The flight crew followed procedures to return to SLC where our teams on the ground supported our customers with their immediate needs.”
According to Delta, the plane was taken out of service Sunday and re-entered service on Monday after technicians addressed an issue that prevented the plane from pressurizing above 10,000 feet.
The Boeing aircraft involved in Sunday’s emergency landing is not part of the manufacturer’s newer MAX fleet, which came under investigation earlier this year after a door plug blew off during a Jan. 5 Alaska Airlines flight at 16,000 feet over Oregon. However, in late January, the FAA recommended more thorough inspections of other Boeing aircraft, including the 737-900ER involved in the Salt Lake City incident, due to a shared door plug design with the MAX jets.
