In yet another Boeing scare, a Tokyo-bound flight was forced to make an emergency landing after a sudden loss of altitude. The flight fell from roughly 36,000 feet to just below 10,500 feet in less than 10 minutes, leading the pilot to declare an emergency with the Air Traffic Control (ATC). As cabin pressure dropped, oxygen masks fell and crew members “cried and shouted” at passengers to use them.
Japan Airlines flight JL8696, with 191 passengers and crew on board, took-off from Shanghai Pudong Airport in China on Monday. At around 6:53 pm local time, the plane faced a technical glitch and began to descend. It was then diverted to Kansai International Airport in Osaka, where it made an emergency landing at 8:50 pm.
The flight was operating on a code-share service by Spring Airlines Japan, which means that one airline was operating it and the other sold tickets.
Spring Airlines Japan was founded in September 2012 as a joint venture between Shanghai-based Spring Airlines and Japan Airlines. In June 2021, Japan Airlines became the majority owner, while Spring Airlines retained a 33 per cent stake in the company.
Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism later confirmed that a pressurisation system alert was triggered during the descent, indicating a potential fault in the aircraft’s cabin pressure system.
Video from flight goes viral
A video from inside the flight has gone viral on social media. It shows people wearing oxygen masks as the flight loses altitude. A few seconds later, the camera pans to show passengers wearing the oxygen masks.
A Spring Airlines flight from Shanghai to Tokyo was forced to make an emergency landing at Kansai Airport after a sudden loss of cabin pressure triggered a rapid descent from 36,000 feet to just under 10,500 feet in ten minutes.
— FL360aero (@fl360aero) July 1, 2025
Flight JL8696 was cruising over Japan when a… pic.twitter.com/2n8rDGfqu5
‘Wrote the will, financial details’
Passengers on board the aircraft were so panicked that one reportedly penned their will and financial details.
‘Stewardess cried, shouted to put on oxygen mask’
“I heard a muffled boom, and the oxygen mask fell off in a few seconds. The stewardess cried and shouted to put on the oxygen mask, saying the plane had a malfunction,” People quoted one passenger as saying.
Another said, “Suddenly, all the oxygen masks popped open while I was sleeping.”
‘Body still here, soul hasn’t caught up’
“My body is still here, but my soul hasn’t caught up. My legs are still shaking. When you face life or death, everything else feels trivial,” one passenger wrote on social media.
All the passengers are safe and sound, and they have been provided with a compensation of 15,000 yen (around Rs 9,000), and overnight accommodation.
An investigation into the case is underway.
Air India plane crash
The incident comes after an Air India flight to London’s Gatwick Airport crashed moments after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport, and all but one passenger died. The aircraft was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Although investigation into the case is underway, initial findings suggest that there was a dual engine failure, which is quite rare as an emergency power system, known as Ram Air Turbine (RAT), was activated by the pilots.
India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is currently investigting the crash which is one of the world’s worst in aviation history.
Just 38 hours after the Ahmedabad plane crash, another Air India flight, which is also a Boeing Dreamliner, started descending at a rate of around 900 feet shortly after takeoff, The Times of India reported.
The Boeing 777 triggered a stall warning and a “don’t sink” alert as it began losing altitude shortly after takeoff on June 14. The pilots quickly took note of these warnings and stabilised the aircraft. The flight landed safely in Vienna after 9 hours and 8 minutes.