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A jet plunged 27,000 feet in just 10 minutes after an "extremely rare" phenomenon occurred.
Travellers aboard a flight headed from Los Angeles, California, to Salt Lake City, Utah, suffered a major scare when oxygen masks suddenly dropped in the passenger cabin.
Delta Flight 2311 was forced to divert to Las Vegas after the jet was struck by a highly rare pressurisation issue.
"As safety comes before everything else at Delta, the flight crew of Delta flight 2311 LAX-SLC followed their training and procedures to safely bring the aircraft to optimal altitude when an unexpected pressurization issue occurred," a spokesman for the airline said.
The flight, carrying 174 passengers and six crew members, fell 27,000 feet in just 10 minutes as oxygen masks deployed.
The pilots and air traffic control were heard discussing the rapid descent on radio.
"Delta 2311 currently [in] rapid descent," a pilot said.
"We'd like to get down to 9,000, and we're direct [to] Las Vegas."
A Delta flight from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City was forced to divert after the pressurisation event
| GETTYAn air traffic controller then asked if oxygen had been deployed, which was responded to with "affirmative" by the pilot.
The aircraft safely landed at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, where passengers exited normally, Delta said.
Another aircraft was brought in so that flyers could continue on with their journey.
"Delta sincerely apologises to our customers for their experience and thanks our flight crews and other support teams on the ground for their professionalism," a spokesman added.
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Passengers were forced to divert to Harry Reid International in Las Vegas
|WIKIMEDIA/CRAIG BUTZ
Retired US Navy F/A-18 fighter pilot Matthew "Whiz" Buckley told Fox News a pressurisation occurrence was "an extremely rare issue".
If struck by a pressure issue, pilots need to "land as soon as practical" at an airfield with "a nice, long, suitable runway".
One passenger aboard the flight recalled the frightening experience on social media.
"The scariest part wasn't even the descent - it was not knowing what was going on," the passenger said.
A passenger on the flight was 'frantically trying to see if I could get on WiFi' during the terrifying incident
| GETTY"Flight attendants were trying to make announcements with their masks on, and it was almost impossible to hear them."
The traveller was awoken in the midst of the chaos and unclear what is going on.
The passenger said: "It took me another second of 'Is this real or am I dreaming?' before getting our masks on."
The person added: "I was frantically trying to see if I could get on WiFi because I didn't know if I was going to have to be sending out 'I love you' texts."
Another passenger who had been in the toilet at the time of the pressurisation was "freaking out" and "said she 'passed out'", according to the social media user.