FAA investigating cabin pressure problem that injured passengers aboard Boeing plane

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an incident this week aboard a Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City in which a cabin pressurization problem with the Boeing 737-900ER aircraft caused a number of passengers to bleed from the nose and ears.

Medical personnel met the flight at the gate and identified 10 passengers who needed treatment or evaluation, the airline said.

Passengers speaking to the local news station KSL-TV said they quickly noticed something going wrong on Delta Flight 1203 headed to Portland, Ore., on Sunday.

“I looked over at my husband, and he had both of his hands over his ears, you know, kind of leaning forward,” one passenger, Caryn Allen said. “I looked about a row behind me, over on the other side of the aisle, and there was a gentleman that clearly had a very bad bloody nose, and people were trying to help him.”

The pilots made the decision to return the plane to Salt Lake City, where it landed without further incident, Delta said. Oxygen masks were not deployed aboard the flight, which had 140 passengers.

“We sincerely apologize to our customers for their experience on flight 1203 on Sept. 15,” Delta said in a statement. “The flight crew followed procedures to return to SLC where our teams on the ground supported our customers with their immediate needs.”

Delta offered to cover transportation costs to medical facilities.

The issue with the flight was that the aircraft was unable to pressurize above 10,000 feet, Delta said. In the event of a pressurization issue, pilots are trained to make controlled descents to below 12,000 feet, where supplemental oxygen is not required.

The Boeing plane was taken out of service that same morning — Sept. 15 — and went back into service on Sept. 16 after Delta technicians resolved the issue.

The FAA investigation is routine for all pressurization issues, and is not necessarily related to recent headlines regarding Boeing’s safety record.