9 Injured When United Airlines Jet Loses Cabin Pressure

Nine passengers were injured Wednesday morning when their Florida-bound United Airlines jet lost cabin pressure less than an hour into the flight, forcing the pilot to return to Los Angeles International Airport.

Those hurt aboard Flight 100 mainly suffered nosebleeds and earaches, according to Los Angeles City fire officials. Four were taken to a nearby clinic and two to a hospital for treatment.

At least one of the injured was a child, United Airlines said.

The 120 shaken passengers were taken to a lounge in Terminal 7 for medical assistance after the landing at 10:39 a.m., said United Airlines spokesman Chris Brathwaite. Passengers who requested it were put on other Orlando-bound flights, he said. The cause of the pressure loss was not immediately known, Brathwaite said. He also had no information on any previous trouble with the aircraft, which was taken out of service.

Jerry Snyder, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman, said the pilot radioed air traffic controllers and asked to return to LAX at 10:05 a.m., when the plane was at 14,000 feet. The pilot did not declare an emergency, Snyder said.

Oxygen masks dropped from ceiling compartments for the passengers’ use, officials said.

According to the National Research Council, the greatest health risk during loss of cabin pressure during flight is hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation that leads to disorientation, unconsciousness and eventually death.

In a separate incident, a British citizen was arrested by FBI agents at LAX Wednesday morning for allegedly punching a flight attendant in the mouth during a nonstop flight from Sydney, Australia, authorities said.

Fraser Alexander Thomas Lonie, 34, was allegedly intoxicated six hours into the United Airlines 747 flight when he was “denied yet another drink,” FBI spokeswoman Laura Bosley said.

A flight attendant who tried to escort Lonie back to his seat was pushed more than once, Bosley said. Another flight attendant was allegedly shoved and hit in the mouth.

Eventually, Lonie was handcuffed to his seat in the 400-passenger plane. He was arrested on charges of interfering with a flight crew, which is a felony.

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Staff Writer Louis Sahagun contributed to this report.