Plane drops 28,000 feet in air, returns back to airport

A United Airlines flight, headed from Newark to Rome, plummeted 28,000 feet in just 10 minutes after facing an issue with cabin pressurisation. The flight was returned to Newark Liberty International Airport where it landed safely on Thursday.

The Boeing 777 aircraft took off from Newark at 8.37pm on September 13 but instead of landing at Rome–Fiumicino International Airport, returned to New Jersey at 12.27 am, flight tracker FlightAware data showed.

The data also indicated that the flight’s altitude dropped by around 28,000 feet in 10 minutes before it could make it to the airport.

A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed to an international news outlet that Flight 510 returned to Newark on Thursday as it suffered a 'pressurisation issue'. It was carrying a total of 270 passengers and 14 crew members.

A United Airlines spokesperson said in a statement that the flight was diverted “to address a possible loss of cabin pressure. The flight landed safely and there was never any loss of cabin pressure,” reported another international media outlet.

“The passengers were then flown to Rome in another aircraft,” said the airline.

On Thursday, a VSR Ventures Learjet 45 aircraft veered off the runway at Mumbai airport while landing, causing the temporary closure of the runway and multiple flight diversions.

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