Hurled into ceiling by turbulence, passengers not wearing seatbelts
AIR passengers were slammed into the ceiling of their plane when their flight hit severe turbulence without warning.
Some were standing in the aisle while others were sitting but with their seatbelts unbuckled because no trouble had been expected.
Witnesses said babies were thrown out of their mothers’ arms by the force of the turbulence, which left 27 passengers injured. Some will need surgery for broken bones.
Phone footage showed a scene of chaos inside the cabin, with injured passengers on the floor, smears of blood on luggage racks and oxygen masks dangling down.
The incident happened one hour before the Aeroflot Boeing 777 from Russia landed in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sunday.
One passenger said: ‘We were hurled up into the roof, it was practically impossible to hold on. It felt like the shaking wouldn’t stop, that we would just crash.’
Evgenia Zibrova, who posted a video of the drama, said: ‘Numerous air pockets one hour before landing led to broken bones, internal and external bleeding... Babies are covered in bruises, people lost consciousness.’
A spokesman for the Russian embassy in Bangkok said: ‘All the injured were taken to hospital with injuries of varying degrees of severity, mainly fractures and contusions. Some need an operation.’ Aeroflot said the plane, which can carry 400 passengers and crew, hit a pocket of ‘clean air’ turbulence which is impossible to predict. ‘Such turbu- lence occurs without any clouds, in clear skies with good visibility, and weather radar is unable to warn of its approach,’ a spokesman said. ‘The crew is unable to warn passengers to return to their seats.’