Photos Show the Damage After Severe Turbulence Injured 10 People
Seven passengers and three crew members were taken to a Philadelphia hospital on Sunday after an American Airlines flight experienced extreme turbulence. About 30 minutes from landing at Philadelphia International Airport, the flight returning from Athens, Greece, started shaking uncontrollably and dropping altitude.
The force of the sudden turbulence was so strong that drinks were thrown around the cabin, splattering on the ceiling and causing a huge mess for the 297 passengers onboard. In photos and video of the aftermath, garbage is strewn throughout the aircraft, with liquid drying on the overhead lights, baggage compartments, and other surfaces. One passenger needed immediate medical assistance following the tumult, according to Dr. Ervin Fang, a doctor from Los Angeles onboard Flight 759.
Fang, who documented the flight's gradual crawl away from the violent patch of air, noted that he "provided medical help (shoulder relocation mid-air)" on Twitter:
Just as flight attendants finished handing out drinks for the final time, passengers were told by the pilot to brace for turbulence, the extent of which no one foresaw. Philadelphia's Ian Smith explained to a local ABC affiliate that the violent jolt had "Babies screaming, people in front of us hitting the ceiling." Smith elaborated, saying: “Thirty minutes out. They were giving us our drinks. The flight attendants were in the last couple rows when they said ‘fasten your seat belts.’ And then they said for the flight attendants to get to their seats, and they didn’t even have time. It started shaking, then it took a big drop."
Another passenger, Alex Ehmke, told NBC News: "The gentleman directly behind us and diagonally behind us hit the ceiling himself... I was looking forward and I just saw everything just move upwards about four feet." Echoing that description is Pro Publica reporter Jessica Huseman, who was also onboard the flight. She snapped a photo of the plane's ceiling, caked with the sticky liquid residue of drying coffee:
After the 30-minute spate of violent turbulence, passengers can be seen amid the littered cabin floor talking with a palpable sense of relief:
American Airlines issued a statement after the incident, noting that all the injured passengers and crew members were released from the hospital by Sunday morning. The FAA is investigating the rogue turbulence. The aircraft that flew through the same airspace just before Flight 759 didn't report any kind of disturbance, according to a message delivered by the pilot after the episode.
Although turbulence is common, it rarely becomes fatal or causes injuries. According to the FAA, only three fatalities have been recorded as a result of turbulence onboard commercial aircraft from 1980 to 2008. Last year was the second safest year on record in aviation history, according to the Aviation Safety Network (ASN), which records all injury-related air travel incidents. The safest year, so far, was 2015, which means that air travel safety is definitely on an upward swing.
Suffice it to say that turbulence probably won't hurt you, even if it gets really rough. Wear your seat belts, kids.
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