Chinese plane in second cockpit window emergency ‘descended like Turbo Drop ride’
Cracks found in window of Capital Airlines aircraft bound for Vietnam, forcing its return to Hangzhou an hour into journey
A flight from China to Vietnam on Tuesday reportedly turned back soon after take-off when cracks were spotted on its cockpit window – the second time this month a Chinese flight has made an unscheduled landing because of a cockpit window problem.
Capital Airlines flight JD421 from Hangzhou in eastern China, bound for Nha Trang and carrying 211 passengers, headed back to Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport an hour after its delayed 3.15pm departure, according to state-run China Central Television (CCTV).
A female passenger surnamed Fang said she had been awoken by strong turbulence before feeling a sense of weightlessness.
“The plane was descending very fast,” she told The Beijing News. “It was like being on a Turbo Drop [vertical drop amusement ride]. The whole process lasted for five to six minutes.”
Passengers were told that the cause was mechanical, and the Beijing-based Capital Airlines flew them to Nha Trang on a different plane at 11.35pm, as well as paying them 400 yuan (US$62) each in compensation.