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A flight from Salt Lake City to Portland turns into a horror scenario. Due to an unforeseen problem, passengers are bleeding from their mouths and ears.
Salt Lake City – Flying can be challenging, especially if you’re afraid of heights or turbulence. Even a sudden change in the weather can lead to an unsettled flight. And sometimes it can even happen that a passenger accidentally gets locked in the toilet. But what the guests of a Delta Air flight in the USA experienced on September 16, 2024 was extraordinary. They had bleeding from their mouths and ears – and the weather wasn’t the cause.
“People tried to help him”: Passengers suddenly start bleeding from their mouths and ears during the flight
Shortly after the Delta Air flight took off from Salt Lake City to Portland, the dramatic events began KSL5TV reported. Caryn Allen, one of the passengers, told the station, “I looked over at my husband and he was putting both hands over his ears and kind of leaning forward.” The couple quickly realized they weren’t the only ones in sudden pain. “I looked around one row behind me, over on the other side of the aisle, and there was a gentleman who obviously had a really bad bloody nose and people were trying to help him,” she said, describing the situation.
On board a Delta Air plane, the cabin pressure dropped steadily – and blood was rushing from the mouths and ears of the passengers. © imago/Symbolbild
“Pain as if someone was piercing your ear” – problems with cabin pressure as a trigger
Another passenger, Jaci Purser, reported a pain that felt like someone was stabbing her ear. She even felt her ear burst from the pressure in the cabin. The reason for the pain during the flight was problems with cabin pressure. As the pressure drop became increasingly severe, the pilot had no choice but to initiate an emergency landing. The plane turned around and landed back in Salt Lake City. Panic broke out during the landing, similar to that experienced by an “unruly” passenger on another flight who also had to make an emergency landing.
Delta Air Lines reacts to horror scenes on US flights
Delta Air Lines has already issued a written statement about the incident, mentioning the problems with cabin pressure, but without elaborating on the cause. “It’s an automatic thing that the plane does and we monitor it to see if it’s not doing what it’s supposed to do,” a retired airline pilot was quoted as saying.
The constant drop in pressure had a drastic impact on the passengers. After landing, ten of them required medical treatment. The airline’s statement acknowledged this: “We sincerely apologize to all passengers for their experience on Flight 1203.” The incident is now being investigated by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
