Another flight encountered turbulence, dozens injured

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, carrying 325 people, was diverted early in the morning to Natal Airport in northeastern Brazil, where more than a dozen ambulances were waiting to take 40 passengers to hospitals and clinics for treatment of minor injuries and abrasions. As of Monday afternoon, 11 people were still hospitalized.

An Air Europa Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner lands at Gran Canaria airport in Telde, Spain on February 21, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Borja Suarez

Among the injured were citizens of Spain, Argentina, Uruguay, Israel, Bolivia and Germany. Air Europa said it had sent a plane from Madrid to take passengers to Montevideo.

Passenger Mariela Jodal said on social media that many people were injured in the turbulence, but that she was unhurt because she was wearing a seatbelt. Photos she shared showed broken ceiling panels, exposed pipes and wires, and an ambulance waiting on the tarmac at Natal.

In May, a 73-year-old British man died and several other passengers and crew suffered brain and spinal injuries when a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 encountered severe turbulence on a flight from London and was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok. A week later, 12 people were injured by turbulence on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Ireland.

Airline safety experts say passengers often neglect to fasten their seatbelts, putting them at risk when planes encounter sudden turbulence. Scientists also say turbulence, invisible to radar, is getting worse due to climate change.

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

Monday’s incident is the latest involving Boeing, which has faced intense scrutiny following an incident in January when a fuselage panel blew off a 737 MAX operated by Alaska Airlines. This raised concerns about the company’s safety and manufacturing standards, which were already under scrutiny after two fatal crashes of the MAX in 2018 and 2019.

Cao Phong (according to CNA, AFP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/them-mot-chuyen-bay-gap-nhieu-dong-hang-chuc-nguoi-bi-thuong-post301987.html