Air turbulence throws passengers around

K.R. Sreenivas / TNN / Aug 5, 2005, 23:08 IST

Share

AA

Text Size

Small
Medium
Large

Incident occurred when a flight on the Bangkok-Bangalore sector dipped and rose by about 200 metres.

BANGALORE: Just half-an-hour to land at Bangalore��s HAL airport. And the passengers from Bangkok suddenly found themselves being tossed up and down. Some were even thrown off their seats.
The incident occurred on Thursday night when the Thai Airways flight on the Bangkok-Bangalore sector dipped and rose by about 200 metres due to air turbulence over the Bay of Bengal.Thai Airways officials confirmed the incident.
Over 30 passengers were injured... while some suffered head injuries, others had bruises. Soon after the plane touched down at the HAL airport, the seriously injured were given first-aid and taken to the Manipal Hospital. Other injured have been put up in hotels after treatment and will be flown to their destinations after two or three days. Some of the injured are from Shimoga.
Air turbulence is a common occurrence, but this particular incident was rather severe, sources said. The aircraft was checked after it landed and was cleared for flying, they said. Thai Airways is filing a report before the Air Safety Controller of Directorate-General of Civil Aviation, Hyderabad, on the incident.

Describing the harrowing minutes, passengers told The Times of India that several passengers, most of them women, hit their heads against the roof. Many were screaming, said Jessie Lewis, a Belgian national of Indian origin,who was on the flight. Lewis said: "It was like a yo-yo. The pilot did not make any announcement for about 15 to 20 minutes after the incident. The crew also panicked and passengers were trying to find life jackets. It was such a scare."
Another passenger said: "We barely escaped." Airport sources said passengers were injured as they were not wearing seat belts.

End of Article

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA