Inside Shanghai-Tokyo flight as oxygen masks deployed after plane drops 26,000ft and needs to make emergency landing
Alarming footage shows the moment a plane flying from Shanghai to Tokyo is forced to make an emergency landing in Osaka after it plummeted nearly 26,000ft in 10 minutes on Monday.
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The Boeing 737 aircraft departed from the Shanghai Pudong airport in China for the Tokyo Narita Airport in Japan, but was forced to land due to sudden pressurisation failure.
Flight JL8696/IJ004 – operated under a codeshare deal between Japan Airlines and its low-cost subsidiary Spring Airlines Japan - made an emergency landing at the Kansai airport in Osaka at around 8.50pm local time.
The plane, which had 191 passengers and crew on board, reportedly descended rapidly from approximately 36,000 feet to just below 10,500 feet in under 10 minutes.
Alarming footage from inside the plane shows nervous passengers grabbing onto oxygen masks during the rapid descent.
Thankfully, there have been no reports of injuries or health concerns among those on board.
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Concerns were first raised when the aircraft's alarm system detected an abnormality in the mechanism responsible for maintaining cabin pressure, Japan's transport ministry said.
An emergency was then reported to air traffic control by the pilot, after they suspected their was cabin depressurisation and diverted the plane to Kansai, according to Kyodo News.
The exact cause of the incident is currently under investigation.
#BREAKING : Japan Airlines flight drops 26,000 ft mid-air, makes emergency landing.
— upuknews (@upuknews1) July 2, 2025
A Tokyo-bound Japan Airlines flight JL8696 made an emergency landing at Kansai Airport after dropping nearly 26,000 feet mid-air.
The Boeing 737, operated by Spring Airlines Japan, was en route… pic.twitter.com/k7t8Asn12L
Sharing a statement with The Independent, Japan Airlines said: "On June 30, Flight JL8696 experienced a malfunction with the cabin pressurisation system, accompanied by an alert indicating an abnormal cabin altitude pressure level.
"In accordance with emergency procedures, the flight descended to a safe altitude. It is important to clarify that rapid decompression did not occur.
"However, due to the potential for a decrease in cabin pressure, oxygen masks were deployed as a precautionary measure. The descent was conducted in accordance with standard safety protocols to ensure passenger and crew safety."