Jet Airways flight: 5 passengers suffering from ‘mild conductive deafness’

Mumbai, September 20

Five Jet Airways passengers, who suffered nose and ear bleeding on Thursday after the crew failed to turn on a switch that controls cabin air pressure, were suffering from “mild conductive deafness”, according to a hospital.

The five were taken to Dr Balabhai Nanavati Hospital, while the rest were attended to by doctors at the Mumbai airport.

As per their preliminary examination by ENT doctors, the five passengers suffered “barotrauma” of ear, which is caused due to a change in air pressure, said Rajendra Patankar, chief operating officer of Dr Balabhai Nanavati Hospital.

“The five patients, all males, have mild conductive deafness, a temporary condition which is likely to take a week or 10 days to heal. They are advised not to fly till then,” Patankar told reporters here.

“They are under observation and are stable. It seems there is no need for their admission to hospital. They are undergoing all required tests,” he said.

The Mumbai-Jaipur flight was carrying 166 passengers and five crew members on board.

“During climb, the crew forgot to select the bleed switch due to which cabin pressurisation could not be maintained. As a result, oxygen masks got deployed,” the official at aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), said.

The Boeing 737 aircraft returned to Mumbai due to “loss of cabin pressure” and the pilots have been taken off duty pending an investigation, a Jet Airways spokesperson said.

Citing initial information, the official said a few passengers had nose-bleeding.

“Out of 166 passengers on board, 30 are affected...some have nose-bleeding, a few have ear-bleeding and some are complaining of headache,” he added. PTI