- A flight attendant broke her back on a short domestic flight in Turkey after the plane hit turbulence.
- The incident is the third case this week of mid-flight turbulence causing injuries and even death.
- The three incidents are not linked, but turbulence is getting worse, a 2023 study showed.
A Turkish Airlines flight attendant has broken her back after the plane she was on hit turbulence, local media reported.
The crew member was working on a short 50-minute domestic flight from Turkey’s biggest city, Istanbul, to Izmir, in the west of the country.
Shortly after the pilot warned passengers to fasten their seat belts, the Airbus A321 suddenly dropped midair in response to turbulence, Hurriyet, Turkey’s biggest newspaper, reported.
The woman, who had only been in the job for two months, was thrown up toward the ceiling and then fell down to the floor of the plane, Hurriyet added.
She was taken to a hospital in Izmir upon landing, where medical staff confirmed that she had a broken vertebra.
The incident is the third case of turbulence causing injuries to passengers widely reported this week.
Over the weekend, 12 people were injured by mid-flight turbulence on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Dublin. The turbulence hit while the plane was flying over Turkey, Dublin Airport told Business Insider.
Upon landing, the flight was met by airport police and emergency services. Eight people were taken to hospital.
It isn’t clear if the patch of turbulence hit by the Qatar plane was the same as that which impacted the Turkish Airlines flight.
The weekend’s incidents followed one of the worst cases of injuries through turbulence in recent years.
One man died, and more than 100 passengers were injured on board a Singapore Airlines flight last Tuesday after the plane dropped hundreds of feet before stabilizing midair.
Images from the diverted flight show debris strewn across the cabin and blood on the ceiling. 73-year-old Geoff Kitchen, who had an existing heart condition, died on board the flight.
Reuters/Stringer
Several passengers suffered traumatic injuries, including paralysis, skull and back trauma, and brain injuries, The Associated Press reported.
34 passengers from the flight remain in hospital, the airline said in a statement on Monday.
Though they have occurred in close proximity, the three dramatic cases of turbulence do not appear to be connected. Instances of severe injuries linked to turbulence remain rare, with around a dozen people a year badly hurt due to turbulence in the US, according to the FAA.
Turbulence, which refers to sharp changes to airflow, is common at high altitudes but is believed to be becoming more severe due to climate change.
In a 2023 study, researchers at the UK’s University of Reading found that in 1979, there were around 17.7 hours of severe turbulence over an average point above the Atlantic Ocean. By 2020, this had jumped to 27.4 hours, an increase of 55%.
Some turbulence is easy to spot, as it is linked to storms or heavy clouds. But rising temperatures are causing more “clear air turbulence,” which hits suddenly and is harder to avoid.
The only way it can currently be detected is if another flight hits it first and warns others.
Fifteen airlines are working on a solution to better monitor clear air turbulence, the FT reported.
Last week, pilot Emma Henderson told BI that, even though the Singapore Airlines flight was an extreme case, it is a good idea always to wear a seatbelt, even if the sign is off, to protect against turbulence.
Turkish Airlines did not immediately respond to BI’s request for comment.
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