Delta plane plunges 27,000 feet in 10 minutes as oxygen masks suddenly drop aboard flight

Travelers aboard a recent Delta Air Lines flight faced a midair scare when oxygen masks suddenly dropped in the passenger cabin.A pressurization issue occurred aboard Delta Flight 2311 on Sept.6, prompting the crew to bring the plane to a lower altitude and divert to Las Vegas, a Delta spokesperson told Fox News Digital. The flight was carrying 174 passengers and six crew members.“As safety comes before everything else at Delta, the flight crew of Delta flight 2311 LAX-SLC followed their training and procedures to safely bring the aircraft to optimal altitude when an unexpected pressurization issue occurred,” the spokesperson said.The flight, which was traveling from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City, descended roughly 27,000 feet in about 10 minutes as oxygen masks deployed in the cabin, according to reports.News of the rapid descent could be heard in communications between the pilots and air traffic control.“Delta 2311 currently [in] rapid descent.

We’d like to get down to 9,000, and we’re direct [to] Las Vegas,” a pilot said in an air traffic control recording, according to reports.When an air traffic controller asked, “Is the oxygen deployed?” the pilot responded, “Affirmative.”The aircraft landed safely at Harry Reid International Airport in Vegas, where passengers exited normally, according to Delta.Delta arranged for another aircraft so that passengers could continue on with their journey.“Delta sincerely apologizes to our customers for their experience and thanks our flight crews and other support teams on the ground for their professionalism,” the spokesperson said.Matthew “Whiz” Buckley of Florida, a retired US Navy F/A-18 fighter pilot with nearly 40 years of flying experience, said such a pressurization occurrence “is an extremely rare issue” in the United States. In a case such as the Delta one, he told Fox News Digital pilots in this scenario would need “to land as soon as practical — meaning, what’s the cl...