PASSENGERS feared for their lives after a Southwest flight made an emergency landing as the airline was caught up in its THIRD safety drama in weeks.

Oxygen masks were deployed when flight 861 from Denver to Dallas suddenly lost cabin pressure at '20,000 ft' on Saturday night.

7 Glen Eichelberger feared he wouldn't survive the mid-air drama Credit: CBS

7 Oxygen masks were deployed when flight 861 suddenly lost cabin pressure Credit: CBS

The 120 travellers on board the jet then had an agonising 30-minute wait before it finally landed at Dallas Love Field, CBS DFW reported.

Southwest later described the landing as 'uneventful' - which certainly doesn't mirror the thoughts of those on board.

"I had no idea what was going on or what the outcome was going to be," passenger Glen Eichelberger told the news station

"When you're in the air 20,000 feet above the ground and don't know what's going on it's not uneventful," he added.

7 Southwest Airline later described the landing as 'uneventful' Credit: CBS

7 Passengers on flight 861 say they don't know what caused the loss of cabin pressure Credit: CBS

7 Passenger Josh Trimberger just after the oxygen masks were deployed Credit: CBS

Video from inside the cabin shows oxygen masks dangling from the ceiling and passengers scrambling to put them on.

"I didn't know whether we were going to make it or not," said a relieved Eichelberger after leaving the plane.

Passengers on flight 861 say they haven't been told what caused the loss of cabin pressure.

"They do thousands of flights a day and it’s a rare instance that this happened and I think it could have happened to anybody," said passenger Josh Trimberger.

7 Credit: Twitter/@Chaikel

Saturday’s emergency landing is just the latest safety scare for Southwest Airlines.

Southwest said in a statement: "Following an uneventful landing, initial reports indicate four of the 120 Customers on board requested a check from paramedics to assess ear pain."

Last month, mum Jennifer Riordan, 43, died after she was sucked out of the window following a midair explosion on Southwest Airlines flight 1380.

The Southwest Boeing 737 had just departed New York's LaGuardia Airport en-route to Dallas when the left engine exploded and ruptured metal flew towards a window.

Then another Southwest plane was forced to make an emergency landing after reports of a shattered window.

7 Jennifer Riordan died after she was partially sucked out a plane window - despite wearing her seatbelt Credit: AP:Associated Press

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Flight WN 957 from Chicago was diverted to Cleveland, Ohio just before 11 am local time - just two hours after taking off.

It is believed that the shattered window was an emergency exit seat.

The plane's 76 passengers were calmly directed by a crew member to grab their belongings and board another flight.