The crew made an emergency descent to 10,000 feet due to the lack of cabin pressure.
A Norwegian Air Boeing 737-800 flying a domestic service from Oslo to Bodo was forced to make an emergency descent and landing following a cabin pressurization issue. The aircraft reduced altitude from 39,000 feet to 10,000 feet in a few minutes as the oxygen masks deployed in the cabin. The 737 continued to Bodo at 10,000 feet where it landed safely with no passenger injuries reported.
Quick change in path
According to AvHerald, the service in question was Norwegian Air Sweden flight DY340 from Oslo to Bodo. The uneventful 90-minute domestic flight quickly took a different turn after the pilots received indication of a cabin pressurization issue. The Boeing 737-800 took off from Oslo Airport (OSL) at 08:49 and quickly reached cruising altitude of 39,000 feet.
However, at 09:37, the aircraft began reducing altitude. This was due to an indicator showing cabin pressure issues, to ensure passenger safety, the plane descended to 8,600 feet initially (where the cabin can remain safely unpressurized). After receiving instructions from ATC, the plane cruised at just under 10,000 feet and landed at Harstad/Narvik Airport (EVE) at 10:39.
The flight path shows the aircraft first take a right-hand turn since ATC first asked the jet to land at Kiruna Airport (KRN), but later chose EVE, with the 737 making a left-hand turn north. Both KRN and EVE are further than the destination of BOO, but the priority remained clearing the landing checklists and safe arrival of the passengers and crew onboard.
Shock in the cabin
While the pilots handled the sudden warning, passengers in the cabin were met with a scary surprise: the dropping of oxygen masks from the overhead compartment. According to Avation24.be, one passenger described the scene as,
“For several minutes, we didn’t know what was happening. Nobody of the crew said a word. Oxygen masks were deployed but it didn’t feel like oxygen was flowing. Besides, passengers got worried and distressed.”
Once the plane reached a safe altitude, the cabin crew, who themselves were wearing oxygen masks first, went through the cabin to reassure passengers that all was well and the plane was on diversion to a nearby airport.
Photo: chrisontour84/Shutterstock
No one onboard was injured and all passengers deplane in Harstad, albeit a bit shaken up by the experience. Norwegian rebooked all the passengers onto alternate services to get to Bodo Airport.
The aircraft
Norwegian used one of its Boeing 737-800s on this route, registered SE-RXB. After sitting on the ground in Harstad for seven hours, the narrowbody flew back to Oslo at 10,000 feet to undergo further checks. After four days on the ground, the plane is scheduled to fly on Tuesday, 14th February, from Oslo Trondheim Airport.
Photo: Norwegian
The aircraft is 12.9 years old, first entering service with Hainan Airlines in May 2010, according to Planespotters.net. The aircraft was withdrawn from use in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic, before lessor AerCap found a new customer in Norwegian Air Sweden in April 2022. Since then, the 737 has been busy flying across Europe and will continue to do so after this brief interruption.
Sources: AvHerald, Aviation24.be, Planespotters.net
Source: simpleflying.com
