Airline passengers in mid-air scare as plane plummets in China

Passengers on a flight to eastern China feared for their lives on Sunday afternoon when their plane suddenly lost altitude. The 146 passengers and nine crew members were around 20 minutes into their journey on board Capital Airlines flight JD5158 from Kunming, Yunnan province, to Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, when they heard loud noises, quickly followed by the pilot’s announcement that the cabin was losing pressure and oxygen masks would be lowered, according to Chinese media reports. One of the passengers said that he saw and smelled smoke and felt a “strong loss of gravity” as the plane rapidly descended. Children were crying and a nearby passenger was recording their last words on a mobile to the family, he said. Passengers said the plane steadied after a while and they were told they would return to the Kunming airport. A statement from the airline to People’s Daily said the flight returned to Kunming due to mechanical problems. It landed safely at about 3.30pm and no one was injured.<br/>