The insulation blanket of a plane that dropped 17,000 feet in six minutes mid-flight was not installed correctly and clogged an air valve, affecting the cabin pressure, an investigation has found.
The QantasLink Fokker 100 aircraft was carrying passengers from Perth to Geraldton on August 10, 2020, cruising at 26,000 feet when the flight crew received an excessive cabin altitude warning.
Oxygen masks were deployed and the pilot launched an emergency descent before the plane levelled off at 9000 feet and continued to Geraldton.
At the time passengers told local media they were startled.
One passenger sitting in the front row told the Geraldton Guardian the crew was to be commended.