Major scare after cabin pressure problem on Ryanair flight
26.08.08
An emergency onboard a Ryanair plane flying from Bristol Airport to Spain left 16 people in hospital last night. The flight was forced to make an emergency landing in France following a dramatic loss of cabin pressure. It landed at Limoges Airport, in central France, at 23:30 last night as a ‘safety precaution’, Ryanair said, adding the 16 passengers (plus 5 family members) were taken to hospital for ear problems.
A 5 year old Boeing 737-800 operating Ryanair flight FR9336 was flying to Barcelona-Girona Airport from Bristol, when a 'brutal depressurisation' forced the aircraft to descend 8000 metres in 5 minutes. The budget airline described the incident as 'an in-flight de-pressurisation incident which caused the oxygen masks to deploy.'
Of the 168 passengers and 7 crew, 16 were taken to hospital with eardrum problems. Ryanair dispatched another aircraft from Stansted to Limoges, which departed at 03:30 with 127 people who were happy to continue their journey with the budget airline. The remaining passengers, including those taken to hospital, were expected to continue their journey to Girona by coach today.
Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary defended the actions of flight FR9336's crew during the incident, which have been criticised in the press by a number of passengers. He also denied passenger claims that the oxygen masks had not been working.
A spokesman for the airline said that its engineers had inspected the aircraft overnight and confirmed that the oxygen masks that deployed were working properly. The Irish and French Aviation Authorities have been notified of this incident and a full investigation of this incident will be undertaken today. While an investigation is ongoing Ryanair has refused to comment further on the incident.
Add to: del.icio.us | Digg it | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
To book a airport hotel bristol or airport car parking bristol at the lowest price, click on these links to two great bristol airport car parking and bristol airport hotel price comparison pages
