Passengers on the Korean Air flight KE189 arrived safely in Taiwan on Sunday.
On Saturday, a serious malfunction forced a Korean Air flight to be diverted as it dropped 26,900 feet in just 15 minutes, hospitalizing 17 people.
A day after the Korean Air flight KE189 was rerouted to the Incheon International Airport, the passengers made it to Taichung, Taiwan, safely.
Alarms on board the Boeing 737 Max 8 were apparently set off by a pressurization system malfunction approximately half an hour into the flight on Saturday.
Consequently, the plane dropped quickly—26,900 feet in just 15 minutes—according to data from the internet flight monitor Flightradar24.
Reports state the passengers suffered from ear ache and hyperventilation; upon arrival in Taichung, Taiwan, 17 of them needed to be hospitalized.
“17 passengers have been attended to by medical professionals in Korea, and have been discharged without severe injuries,” Korean Air said in a statement that was shared with The Independent.
On June 22, the 125-person aircraft was supposed to arrive in Taiwan at approximately 4:45 p.m. local time.
Three hours after departure, the plane circled back to Incheon Airport because of the emergency, according to Korea JoongAng Daily.
The aircraft landed back at the departure airport around 7:38 p.m., according to the Yonhap news agency.
Although it was a terrifying experience, no serious injuries were recorded.
After Korean Air conducted an inquiry into the incident, the flight was resumed the next morning with a different aircraft.
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