Passengers injured after Qantas Flight QF68 hits turbulence
Article from: Herald Sun
Patrick Horan, Gareth Trickey
June 22, 2009 09:42am
UPDATE 11.03am: QANTAS passengers have told of a sudden drop in altitude which caused seven people to be injured this morning.
A Qantas statement said Flight QF68 from Hong Kong, an Airbus A330-300, encountered turbulence over Borneo, four hours into the journey.
Six passengers and a crew member sustained minor injuries and were initially treated on board.
There was also minor damage to some overhead panels and two oxygen masks were dislodged.
One of the 206 passengers on the plane, John, said there was a loud bang followed by a sudden drop in altitude.
"As the plane was flying we got the normal turbulence but what happened this time was a sudden drop in altitude,'' he told commercial radio.
"I was sitting at the exit door and I had this lady, (who) was waiting at the restroom and she flew up and hit the ceiling and came crashing down to the floor,'' he said.
"It was just a matter of a few seconds but it (the turbulence) was really sudden and things went flying."
John said the elderly woman who hit the ceiling was shaken.
"She was on the floor and she was just traumatised,'' he said.
Qantas said the aircraft operated normally after the incident and, following medical advice, proceeded to Perth.
It landed safely at around 7.45am local time (9.45am Melbourne time).
A Qantas spokesman described the cause as "a severe meteorological incident.''
The aircraft is an Airbus A330-300, and the incident has been reported to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which will investigate.
Article from: Herald Sun
Patrick Horan, Gareth Trickey
June 22, 2009 09:42am
UPDATE 11.03am: QANTAS passengers have told of a sudden drop in altitude which caused seven people to be injured this morning.
A Qantas statement said Flight QF68 from Hong Kong, an Airbus A330-300, encountered turbulence over Borneo, four hours into the journey.
Six passengers and a crew member sustained minor injuries and were initially treated on board.
There was also minor damage to some overhead panels and two oxygen masks were dislodged.
One of the 206 passengers on the plane, John, said there was a loud bang followed by a sudden drop in altitude.
"As the plane was flying we got the normal turbulence but what happened this time was a sudden drop in altitude,'' he told commercial radio.
"I was sitting at the exit door and I had this lady, (who) was waiting at the restroom and she flew up and hit the ceiling and came crashing down to the floor,'' he said.
"It was just a matter of a few seconds but it (the turbulence) was really sudden and things went flying."
John said the elderly woman who hit the ceiling was shaken.
"She was on the floor and she was just traumatised,'' he said.
Qantas said the aircraft operated normally after the incident and, following medical advice, proceeded to Perth.
It landed safely at around 7.45am local time (9.45am Melbourne time).
A Qantas spokesman described the cause as "a severe meteorological incident.''
The aircraft is an Airbus A330-300, and the incident has been reported to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which will investigate.
