Overview

• Flight JL8696/IJ004, operated under a codeshare by Japan Airlines and Spring Airlines Japan, experienced a cabin pressurization failure on June 30, prompting an emergency descent from 36,000 to about 10,500 feet in under ten minutes.
• The Boeing 737-800 diverted to Kansai International Airport in Osaka, landed around 8:50 p.m. local time, and all 191 passengers and crew disembarked uninjured.
• Oxygen masks deployed mid-flight, causing panic among passengers; some reported writing farewell notes as the aircraft dropped rapidly.
• Spring Airlines Japan has offered each passenger 15,000 yen (approximately US$104) and one night’s accommodation after passengers remained onboard for over an hour following landing.
• Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has launched an official investigation to determine the root cause of the pressurization irregularity.