Traveller thrown into luggage compartment as turbulence strikes

Airline and government officials said that dozens of passengers were injured on Monday when an Air Europa flight from Madrid to Montevideo hit strong turbulence, prompting an emergency landing in Brazil.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, with 325 people on board, was diverted in the early morning hours to the airport of Natal in northeast Brazil, where more than a dozen ambulances waited.

Forty passengers were taken to hospitals and clinics in Natal to treat "abrasions and minor traumas", the health secretariat of Brazil's Rio Grande do Norte state told AFP.

READ: Cheeky African penguin catches a ride with SA bodyboarder

Video footage of the incident also showed how one man ended up in the plane’s overhead luggage compartment due to the turbulence.

The video shared on X showed how other passengers helped the man out of the compartment.

It also showed extreme damage to the overhead compartment, as well as passengers being treated for injuries.

Watch here:

Eleven remained hospitalised at the Monsenhor Walfredo Gurgel hospital by Monday afternoon.

Among the injured were nationals of Spain, Argentina, Uruguay, Israel, Bolivia, and Germany.

Air Europa said seven passengers had been treated for "various injuries" while an undisclosed number received medical attention for bruises.

It added a plane was being sent from Madrid to collect the passengers while the stricken Boeing is examined for damage in Natal.

READ: Boks dance at Heathrow after flight is cancelled

The company said they would first be taken to Recife, elsewhere in Brazil, from where they would continue the journey to the Uruguayan capital.

X user Mariela Jodal, who said she was among the passengers, also wrote on the platform that several people were injured in "very strong turbulence", but she was spared "thanks to the seat belt".

She posted images of broken ceiling panels, with pipes and wires visible, while one photo showed emergency vehicles with flashing lights waiting on the tarmac in Natal.

In May, a 73-year-old British man died and several other passengers and crew suffered skull, brain, and spine injuries when a Singapore Airlines-operated Boeing 777 hit severe turbulence on a flight from London and was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok.

A week later, 12 people were injured during turbulence on a Qatar Airways Boeing 787-9 flight from Doha to Ireland.

Climate change

Air safety experts say passengers are often too casual about wearing seatbelts, leaving them at risk if the plane hits unexpected turbulence.

Scientists also say that climate change is worsening so-called clear air turbulence, which is invisible to radar.

A 2023 study found that the annual duration of clear air turbulence increased by 17 percent from 1979 to 2020, with the most severe cases increasing by more than 50 percent.

Monday's incident was the latest drama involving a Boeing plane.

The manufacturer faces intense scrutiny following a near-catastrophic event in January when a fuselage panel blew out of an Alaska Airlines-operated 737 MAX.

That renewed concerns over the company's safety and manufacturing standards, which had been raised following two fatal MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019.

In March, the US aviation giant announced the impending departure of CEO Dave Calhoun.

This story was provided by our sister station, Jacaranda FM.

Catch your daily dose of East Coast Breakfast from 6-9am!

LISTEN LIVE HERE

Get in touch with us [email protected] 

HOW TO LISTEN TO EAST COAST RADIO 

1. Listen to East Coast Radio on the FM (frequency modulation) spectrum between 94 and 95 FM on your radio.
2. Listen live to ECR by clicking here or download the ECR App (iOS/Android).
3. Listen to East Coast Radio on the DStv audio bouquet, channel 836. 
4. Switch to the audio bouquet on your Openview decoder and browse to channel 606
5. Listen to us on Amazon Alexa.