Plane 'free-falls' nearly 8,000m, has to turn back after more than half a day of flying

A United Airlines flight from Newark to Rome had a terrifying journey last Wednesday when the plane plummeted more than 28,000 feet in just under 10 minutes and was forced to return to its departure airport.

United flight departs Newark airport but has to detour over Canada and return to its starting point

Fortunately, the pilots regained control of the plane after the crash and stabilized it at 8,900 feet (about 2,700m). They then turned the plane around over Nova Scotia to return to Newark airport before 12:20 a.m. the next day.

United Airlines Flight 510 never made it to Rome after the Boeing 777 suffered a problem with its cabin pressurization, forcing the plane to rapidly descend and the pilots to turn back the plane carrying 270 passengers and 14 crew members, a spokesperson for the airline told The New York Post.

The plane took off from Newark Liberty International Airport, US at 8:37 p.m. and landed back at the airport at 12:27 a.m. the next morning instead of its planned destination of Rome-Fiumicino International Airport, Italy, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.

Specifically, data from FlightAware shows that the plane rapidly descended in nearly 10 minutes from 37,000 feet at 10:07 p.m. to just below 9,000 feet around 10:15 p.m. Pilots will typically rapidly descend to a lower altitude when there are concerns about the plane's pressurization.

The plane returned to Newark “to address a possible loss of cabin pressure,” a United Airlines spokesperson said. “The flight landed safely.” The last passengers to Italy arrived after they left the Boeing 777 and boarded another plane, after a seven-hour wait.

The Federal Aviation Administration also said the plane experienced a "pressurization issue" that forced it to reverse course and that the agency is investigating the incident.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/may-bay-roi-tu-do-gan-8000m-phai-quay-lai-sau-hon-nua-ngay-bay-185230916134450695.htm