A Southwest Boeing 737-800 flying from Denver to San Franciso had to return to Denver shortly after takeoff due to a cabin pressurization issue. The aircraft landed without incident, and no one onboard was injured. Cabin pressurization failure On Thursday, November 21st, Southwest Airlines Flight SWA4277, which services the nonstop route from Denver International Airport (DEN) to Oakland International Airport (OAK) using a Boeing 737-800 (registered N8551Q), was forced to divert to DEN after just 35 minutes of flight time.
According to The Denver Post , the aircraft's cabin failed to pressurize fully. Simple Flying has contacted the airline to provide a statement on the incident. According to data from Flight Aware , the aircraft took off at 20:50 local time, intending to start its 1,169-mile journey to OAK.
However, the aircraft stopped climbing after reaching a maximum altitude of 12,200 ft, which took only four minutes after takeoff. No oxygen masks were deployed, and there was no panic among the passengers. It quickly descended to 10,000 ft and roughly seven minutes later to 7,700 ft.
It remained at this altitude and completed two circuits, which took roughly 15 minutes, possibly to burn fuel for landing. After 31 minutes of flight time, the aircraft began its final descent to landing and landed safely at DEN. The aircraft taxied back to the gate under its own power; no other issues were reported.
Passengers were deplaned, and the aircraft was grounded, pending inspection.