Five Jet Airways passengers who suffered nose and ear bleeding after the aircraft took off without the crew turning on a switch that controls cabin air pressure, has been admitted to a hospital in Mumbai for check-up on Thursday.
"Five passengers who have been admitted with bleeding nose and ear may suffer from mild deafness," said hospital authorities. "They have also been advised to not to travel in the next few days," they added.
Several passengers on a Jet Airways flight from Mumbai to Jaipur suffered nose and ear bleeding on Thursday after the crew "forgot" to turn on a switch that controls cabin air pressure
As per their preliminary examination by ENT doctors, the five passengers suffered "barotrauma" of ear, which is caused due to a change in air pressure, said Rajendra Patankar, chief operating officer of Dr Balabhai Nanavati Hospital.
"The five patients, all males, have mild conductive deafness, a temporary condition which is likely to take a week or 10 days to heal. They are advised not to fly till then," Patankar told reporters.
"They are under observation and are stable. It seems there is no need for their admission in hospital. They are undergoing all required tests," he said.
The Mumbai-Jaipur flight was carrying 166 passengers and five crew members on board.
"During climb, the crew forgot to select bleed switch due to which cabin pressurisation could not be maintained. As a result, oxygen masks got deployed," the official at aviation
regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), said.
The Boeing 737 aircraft returned to Mumbai due to "loss of cabin pressure" and the pilots have been taken off duty pending investigation, a Jet Airways spokesperson said.
Citing initial information, the official said few passengers have nose bleeding.
"Out of 166 passengers on board, 30 passengers are affected... some have nose bleeding, a few have ear bleeding and some are complaining of headache," he added.
PTI
