(PatriotWise.com) — Nineteen Korean Air passengers traveling to Taiwan were hospitalized last weekend after the Boeing 737 Max 8 suddenly depressurized, according to South Korea’s Transport Ministry.
The ministry said the sudden depressurization forced the plane to return to Incheon Airport, where the 19 passengers were sent to nearby hospitals with nosebleeds and pain in the ears. However, none of the passengers suffered serious injuries.
Korean Air said the incident was under investigation. The Transport Ministry ordered all South Korean airlines to inspect the pressurization systems on their fleets of aircraft.
According to officials, the incident occurred about 50 minutes after takeoff on Saturday, June 22. When the cabin depressurized, the Boeing 737 Max dropped 26,900 feet.
The passengers continued to Taiwan aboard another aircraft the following day.
Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft has a troubling track record. The FAA and other government transport agencies grounded the 737s worldwide for nearly two years after two separate crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed over 340 people.
Renewed concerns over Boeing’s best-selling 737 Max were prompted in January after an Alaska Airlines flight out of Oregon was forced to make an emergency landing after a door panel blew out after takeoff.
Boeing’s outgoing CEO, David Calhoun, appeared before the Senate Homeland Security Committee’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on June 18, where he faced contentious questioning from lawmakers on the company’s safety record.
During an especially brutal exchange, Republican Senator Josh Hawley grilled Calhoun about Boeing’s manufacturing and safety record and blasted the CEO over his $32.8 million in compensation.
When Hawley demanded to know why he had not resigned immediately, Calhoun said he was committed to “sticking through this” and told the senator that he was proud of Boeing’s safety record.
Shortly before Calhoun’s testimony, the subcommittee released a report on the latest whistleblower allegations from a Boeing quality assurance investigator who reported that the company may be using defective parts in its 737 Max planes.
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