Delta faces US investigation after flight passengers report bloody ears and noses

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating a Delta Air Lines flight after pressurization issues caused some passengers to say they suffered ruptured eardrums and nosebleeds and forced the plane to turn around.

On Sunday, the flight, a Boeing 737-900, was traveling from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Portland, Oregon, when it was forced to make an emergency landing back in Salt Lake City due to pressurization issues.

Speaking to KSLTV, one passenger, Caryn Allen, said she looked over and noticed her husband was leaning forward in his seat and had both of his hands over his ears. Allen then noticed other passengers in pain too, saying: “I looked about a row behind me over on the other side of the aisle and there was a gentleman that clearly had a very bad bloody nose and people were trying to help him.”

Related: US opens investigation into Delta after airline cancels thousands of flights

Similarly, another passenger, Jaci Purser, told the TV station that she felt like somebody was stabbing her ear and that she felt her ear pop. “I grabbed my ear and I pulled my hand back and there was blood on it,” Purser said.

Following the emergency landing, paramedics identified at least 10 out of the 140 passengers on board who needed medical attention and Delta offered to pay for the transportation to the hospital.

In a statement following the incident, Delta said: “We sincerely apologize to our customers for their experience on flight 1203 on September 15. The flight crew followed procedures to return to SLC where our teams on the ground supported our customers with their immediate needs,” KSLTV reported.

“Delta technicians worked the pressurization issue on the aircraft successfully. It was taken out of service on the morning of September 15 and went back into service on September 16,” the airline added.

The FAA said it was investigating the incident.