© Reuters/Lucy NicholsonSouthwest Airlines planes are seen in front of the Las Vegas strip, Nevada, United States on April 23, 2015.
A Southwest Airlines flight, traveling from Las Vegas to Milwaukee, was diverted to Denver late Friday, because of
a pressurization problem. The latest incident follows Wednesday's
emergency landing by a SkyWest Airlines flight, traveling from Chicago to Connecticut,
after three passengers fell unconscious due to suspected pressurization problems.
Flight 100, with 175 passengers and six crew members on board, was diverted after flying for about 90 minutes. The passengers were evaluated after the plane landed, without any incident. The Denver Fire Department responded to gate C27 at the Denver International Airport (DIA) to assist the evacuation of the plane. Company officials said only one passenger required medical assistance.
The airline said the flight to Milwaukee will continue and the passengers will be accommodated in another aircraft set to arrive about two hours late.
Comment: Last week it was
reported that the SkyWest Airlines flight, traveling from Chicago to Connecticut, Flight 5622,
descended rapidly from an altitude of over 28,000 feet to 10,000 feet in a few minutes and had to make an emergency landing at Buffalo Niagara International Airport. However, an investigation into the incident later found that there was
no problem in cabin pressure and that the oxygen masks did not release. A passenger Frank Angelo
said the plane went into a "nosedive" and the "airplane was shaking."
So what caused this dramatic descent?
Recently a cargo plane,
Carson Air Flight 66, crashed in Vancouver's North Shore Mountains following an "uncontrolled descent". According to Transportation Safety Board investigator Bill Yearwood:
"The radar track showed a very steep descent," he said. "The crew did not call, declare an emergency or have any stress, which gives us an idea that whatever happened, happened suddenly. The radar track gives us information on how fast it was descending ... and that is consistent with uncontrolled flight."
Comment: You would think that the BBC would have, by now, at least attempted to seem fair and impartial towards the Palestinian plight after such events as 'Operation Protective Edge' in which thousands of Gazans were killed, maimed, and left in a horrific humanitarian crises.