Flight 812 was about 18 minutes into its flight out of Phoenix on Friday when a small section of the fuselage skin burst open, terrifying the 118 passengers, who had to scramble for oxygen masks after the cabin lost pressure. The plane landed safely at a military base in Yuma, Ariz.
When the hole appeared, the pilots immediately donned oxygen masks and declared an emergency. They considered returning to Phoenix, but when the cabin crew told them the extent of the damage, they decided to divert to the closest airport.
The plane descended from 34,000 feet to 11,000 feet in about four and a half minutes, Sumwalt said. An inspection revealed that all of the oxygen generators above the seats deployed, but investigators planned to interview the cabin crew and passengers after reports that some people lost consciousness before the masks were activated....
