Japan Airlines flight drops 26,000 ft mid-air, makes emergency landing

The Boeing 737 aircraft operated by Spring Airlines Japan, with 191 people on board, experienced a cabin pressure irregularity. Passengers described the incident on social media as 'life-threatening'

A Tokyo-bound Japan Airlines flight JL8696 from Shanghai was forced to make an emergency landing at Kansai Airport in Japan after the aircraft dropped nearly 26,000 feet mid-air suddenly.

 

The Boeing 737 aircraft was operated by Spring Airlines Japan and carried 191 people on board, including passengers and the crew, South China Morning Post reported, adding that none of the passengers and crew were injured.

 

The flight suffered a sudden drop in cabin pressure at around 6.53 PM local time, thereby forcing the plane to descend rapidly from 36,000 feet to 10,500 feet in ten minutes. According to an Associated Press report, passengers onboard were worried that the aircraft would crash after the oxygen masks were deployed amid fears of a change in pressure levels. Sudden drop in pressure level could cause some people to lose consciousness. 

 

A Spring Airlines flight from Shanghai to Tokyo was forced to make an emergency landing at Kansai Airport after a sudden loss of cabin pressure triggered a rapid descent from 36,000 feet to just under 10,500 feet in ten minutes.  Flight JL8696 was cruising over Japan when a… pic.twitter.com/2n8rDGfqu5

— FL360aero (@fl360aero) July 1, 2025

 

Citing officials from the Japanese government, news report said the pilots contacted air traffic controllers after an alert was triggered in the aircraft about an irregularity in the pressurisation system that maintains cabin air pressure.

 

Soon after landing, passengers began posting on social media about the incident as “life-threatening”. A passenger wrote, “My body is still here, but my soul hasn’t caught up. My legs are still shaking. When you face life or death, everything else feels trivial.”

 

Another passenger told Associated Press that a muffled boom was heard, and the oxygen mask came down in a few seconds, adding that the stewardess cried and shouted to put on the masks, saying that the plane had a malfunction. 

 

Several social media users claimed that the passengers were kept on board the plane, even after an hour of landing, with Spring Airlines announcing to pay each passenger 15,000 yen ($104) after complaints. However, the passengers would be required to contact the airline rather than receive the compensation automatically.

 

A South China Morning Post report revealed that the Boeing 737 series involved in Monday’s emergency landing has faced numerous global safety incidents, including at least 12 fatal crashes since 2000. 

An investigation is currently underway into the mechanical issue that caused the sudden drop in cabin pressure.