Southwest Passenger Suffers Ear Bleed As Cabin Depressurizes, Flight Makes Emergency Landing

A Southwest Airlines flight bound for Tampa, Florida, made an emergency landing in New England, Connecticut, after the plane’s cabin went through pressurizing issues and passengers onboard complained of pain and discomfort.

Flight 1694 which took off from Hartford, Connecticut, started experiencing technical issues after an hour of flying, Friday night. After the cabin depressurized and passengers started falling ill, the pilot decided to make an emergency landing at Bradley International Airport at 9:11 p.m. EST. “The pilot declared an emergency and reported a possible pressurization issue,” an FAA spokesman told local newspaper Hartford Courant.

As soon as the flight landed at the airport, emergency technicians rushed to the tarmac to treat the passengers. Although there were no indication of any severe injuries to the people on the plane, a number of them complained of ear pain and injuries and at least one of them suffered ear bleed.

“Several customers among the 139 on board are being treated for injuries and discomfort by local paramedics,” the airline said in a statement. “We have removed the aircraft from service and will accommodate those wishing to continue their travel with another aircraft.”

Southwest Airlines’ account of events was corroborated by Bradley spokeswoman Alisa Sisic, who admitted that the passengers on the flight were given medical assistance. However, she refrained from elaborating on it. “At Southwest’s request, EMS personnel responded to the aircraft’s gate,” she said.

Before returning to Connecticut, Flight 1694 got as far as eastern New York State, according to radar records. The Bradley International Airport, which is the second-largest airport in New England, is situated about halfway between Hartford and Springfield.

In a similar instance in May 2018, a Southwest flight from Denver to Dallas made an emergency landing following depressurization of the cabin.

“The Crew of Flight 861 traveling from Denver to Dallas Saturday night radioed ahead for paramedics to meet the aircraft after a pressurization issue in flight," a representative for Southwest Airlines said. "Following an uneventful landing, initial reports indicate four of the 120 Customers onboard requested a check from paramedics to assess ear pain. All of the Customers were ending their journey with us in Dallas, as was the aircraft, which underwent a maintenance review."

The cabin of the flight started to lose pressure at 20,000 feet in the air. Oxygen masks were deployed as the plane neared the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

Many of the passengers onboard the aircraft at the time took issue with the fact they were not given enough information on the ongoing situation. A passenger, Glen Eichelberger, said that after the oxygen masks dropped down, the flight attendants told the people to put them on as the cabin was losing pressure.

"I had no idea what was going on or what the outcome was going to be," said Eichelberger. "I reached over and grabbed Josh [his friend and co-passenger) by the arm because I didn't know if we were going to make it or not. There was no communication whatsoever from the flight attendants or from the cockpit as far whether we were in mortal danger. When you're in the air 20,000 feet above the ground and don't know what's going on, it's not uneventful," he said.