‘Crew panicked more than us’

The Asian Age.

Metros, Mumbai

Ankur Kala (38), who works for a jewellery firm and was going to Jaipur, suffered a nosebleed.

Injured passengers of Jet Airways, leaves the Nanavati hospital after being treated, in Mumbai on Thursday. (Photo: Mrugesh Bandiwadekar)

Mumbai: The Jet Airways passengers who suffered nose and ear bleeding on Thursday after the crew failed to turn on a switch on their aircraft that controls cabin air pressure, likened the crew to “trainees” who did not know how to deal with the situation.

Ankur Kala (38), who works for a jewellery firm and was going to Jaipur, suffered a nosebleed. He said, “As soon as we took off, the air conditioners were not working. It was suffocating inside.”

Recounting the ordeal, Mr Kala said that about 15 to 20 minutes after the takeoff, oxygen masks were deployed from the overhead compartments, but there were no instructions as to whether or not we were supposed to use them. “There was no announcement from the pilots or crew on whether we were going ahead or landing. The crew members panicked more than the passengers,” he claimed.

Darshak Hathi, an international faculty member of the Art of Living and Mumbai-based professional Prashant Sharma had a harrowing experience.

Mr Hathi said, “As soon as the flight took off, we started feeling restless. Being a yoga teacher, I didn’t suffer much. The air hostesses, instead of helping passengers, were busy in their work. Many oxygen masks weren’t working.”

Mr Sharma said, “Sudde-nly the air pressure in the cabin dropped and oxygen masks came down. I saw a passenger sitting next to me bleeding from the nose, which was terrifying. Several others complained of extreme ear pain.”

Mr Sharma further said that the crew soon announced that the plane would return to Mumbai airport. “It then circled over the airport for around half an hour before landing. There was no announcement (related to the matter) from the crew,” he said.

The passengers also complained that no refreshments nor water was served to them.

Specialists at the Dr Balabhai Nanavati Hospi-tal examined five passengers, Anveshan Ray (39), Mukesh Sharma (31), Vikas Agarwal (31), Damodar Das (37) and Ankur Kala (38),  who we-re diagnosed with “mild conductive deafness” and later discharged.

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