The Arctic explorer Pen Hadow and his family were among scores of British holidaymakers on board the flight from Bristol to Barcelona-Girona, which was diverted to Limoges in western France after losing cabin pressure.

Mr Hadow described today how "well over 80 per cent of people on that flight knew they were going to die" and a lack of communication from cabin staff had added to their "extreme fear".

He said that the oxygen masks dropped down unexpectedly after a sudden rush of cold air through the aircraft, but "the general experience of the 140-odd passengers was that no oxygen was delivered through the oxygen masks to anyone".

“From where I was sitting I could see about 20 masks and only a few of them were inflating," he added.

"It was extremely variable as to who got oxygen in their masks, and the cabin crew didn’t seem to know what to do.”

But Michael O'Leary, the Ryanair chief executive, denied that there had been any problem with the oxygen supply except that passengers had expected a rush of gas instead of the steady stream the masks actually deliver.

“The oxygen masks were working, the correct safety procedures were followed," Mr O'Leary insisted.

Sixteen people, including Mr Hadow's nine-year-old son, Wilf, were hospitalised and treated for ear problems after the plane's abrupt descent.

Mr Hadow, who became the first man to walk solo and unsupported from the northern coast of Canada to the North Pole in 2003, said that there was a loud sound as the cabin pressure dropped and a “sudden drop in temperature and a rush of cold air” as the plane plummeted.

“You think to yourself: God, is there a hole in the aircraft? It actually felt like somebody had opened a door in the back of the aircraft. It was incredibly cold," he said.

“The next thing, the oxygen masks were dropping. My highest priority was to get a mask on to my son who was sitting next to me in a bemused and frightened state," he said.