Air Niugini problem causes ears to bleed
 

From the Age.com.au

Passengers on an Air Niugini flight began bleeding from the ears when the plane developed cabin pressure problems after takeoff in Papua New Guinea.

The Fokker 100, bound for the port city of Lae yesterday, had to return to the capital, Port Moresby, where about 30 passengers were treated by a doctor, PNG newspapers reported today.

Passenger John Pangkatana described the incident as "10 to 15 minutes of ear-wrenching pain".

He said children started crying and people blocked their ears to reduce the pain, with one passenger yelling out: "I'm going to die".

Some passengers, including a pregnant woman, had blood coming from their ears, Pangkatana said. Air Niugini has since apologised to passengers.

The airline said the plane had developed a pressurisation problem the day before but repair work had been carried out that night. The incident was reported to PNG's Civil Aviation Authority and the airline's safety manager is investigating the incident.