Passengers on an Air-China flight from Hong Kong to Dalian were shaken by a crash scare when the plane suddenly plummeted 20,000 feet with no warning. Even the flight attendants were clueless as to the cause of the drop, causing a panic in the cabin.
But apparently, it was all just one big misstep. The co-pilot was vaping in the cockpit and went to turn off the plane’s recycling system so the vapor wouldn’t pour out into the cabin. Instead, he pressed the button to lower the oxygen levels, which is not good when you’re at cruising altitude.
The higher a plane is, the less oxygen there is to go around. So, by lowering the oxygen levels in the cabin, the plane immediately readjusted its altitude in order to renormalize them. None of the 153 passengers were harmed and the flight arrived on time, but some are saying the psychological effects will stick with them for a long time. Said one passenger, “[We] didn’t know what was going on, nor did the flight attendants, it seemed.”
Another said, “I’m not physically hurt, but the psychological impact lingers. When I close my eyes, I see the oxygen masks dangling in front of me.”
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