Plane Passenger Writes Farewell Note After Oxygen Masks Drop and Boeing 737 Falls Nearly 26,000 Feet: Reports

Passengers on a Japan Airlines flight faced a terrifying ordeal when their Boeing 737 suddenly plummeted nearly 26,000 feet mid-flight, triggering oxygen masks to deploy and prompting some to write farewell messages.

The dramatic incident unfolded on Monday, June 30, aboard Flight JL8696/IJ004 — a codeshare route operated by low-cost carrier Spring Japan, a subsidiary of Japan Airlines. The plane had taken off from Shanghai Pudong Airport en route to Tokyo Narita Airport, carrying 191 passengers and crew, according to Kyodo News, South China Morning Post, and The Standard.

Around 6:53 p.m. local time, the aircraft experienced a sudden mechanical issue and dropped from an altitude of 36,000 feet to just under 10,500 feet in under 10 minutes, the Associated Press reported.

“I heard a muffled boom, and within seconds the oxygen masks dropped,” one passenger told the AP. “The stewardess was crying and shouting at us to put on the oxygen masks, saying there was a malfunction.”

Another passenger recalled waking up to the sight of the masks falling, while a third, gripped by fear, said they were “on the verge of tears” as they scribbled out a last will, including PINs and insurance details, believing the plane might crash.

Video footage taken inside the cabin shows panicked passengers clutching their masks while a visibly shaken flight attendant makes announcements.

An emergency alert was triggered after the plane’s pressurization system malfunctioned, prompting the pilot to declare an emergency and divert to Kansai International Airport in Osaka. The plane landed safely around 8:50 p.m. with no reported injuries.

Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism confirmed that an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the pressurization failure.

Passengers were given 15,000 yen (about $93) in transportation reimbursement and offered hotel accommodations for the night, AP reported.

Japan Airlines and the country’s aviation authorities have yet to publicly comment on the incident as of July 1.