Passengers on a Qatar Airways flight rocked by turbulence as it approached Dublin Airport have revealed that flight attendants were injured during a terrifying five seconds which saw eight people hospitalised.
Airways flight rocked by turbulence as it approached Dublin Airport have revealed that flight attendants were injured during a terrifying five seconds which saw eight people hospitalised. Eight people have been taken to hospital after the aircraft experienced turbulence, injuring 12 on board.
Now those onboard the plane have described how staff members were sent flying into the air, adding that they ‘thought it was the end’.
One man, who was on his way back from Perth, Australia, said that food and drink was scattered everywhere after the incident.
He said: “I had to grab the seat in front, I had to put my seatbelt on.”
Eileen said that she had never had a worse experience onboard a flight and that her partner Tony was forced to hold her down as she had been taking a nap without a seatbelt on.
“I am not in a hurry to get back on a plane I can tell you,” she added.
Meanwhile Cathal described how his meal had gone flying off his lap and that the turbulence had caused his shorts to be ripped.
Paul Mocc explained how people had hit the roof during the chaos and that refreshments had ended up scattered all over the cabin.
The passenger added that he had seen flight attendants limping with bandages on afterwards and that they had all handled the situation very well.
Conor, who was on his way back from Thailand, also described staff going ‘up in the air’ when the plane suddenly dropped.
And Emma recalled the fear and stress in people’s faces during the turbulence.
Earlier Dublin Airport said that six passengers and six crew members had been injured during the incident on the flight while it was flying over Turkey.
In a statement, Dublin Airport said the Qatar Airways flight landed safely as scheduled shortly before 1pm on Sunday.
Emergency services, including ambulances, were seen on the ground around the plane after it landed in the Irish capital.
Passengers described food flying around and panic rippling through cabin but praised the air stewards on board.
Kevin Cullinane, Deputy Director of Communications at daa, the operator of Dublin Airport said: “The Dublin Airport team continues to provide full assistance on the ground to passengers and airline crew.”
In an updated statement at 3pm, Dublin Airport said all passengers were assessed for injury before disembarking the plane, and eight were taken to hospital.
“Qatar Airways flight QR017 from Doha landed safely as scheduled at Dublin Airport shortly before 1300 on Sunday,” they said.
“Upon landing, the aircraft was met by emergency services, including airport police and our fire and rescue department, due to six passengers and six crew (12 total) on board reporting injuries after the aircraft experienced turbulence while airborne over Turkey.
“All passengers were assessed for injury prior to disembarking the aircraft. Eight passengers were subsequently taken to hospital.”
One of the passengers on the flight, Paul Mocc said that he saw people ‘hitting the roof’ and food and drink going everywhere.
He said he saw crew members limping around afterward with bandages on but he said they did a really good job of continuing the flight service.
Adam Dalton, a game developer was on the flight and described it as “like a rollercoaster drop.”
He added that it felt like it lasted three to five seconds and food and drink were everywhere.
“All a bit of a shock,” he said.
Tom wrote on Twitter, formerly X that there was panic when the aeroplane hit turbulence.
He said: “Captain very slow to explain what happened, said was evaluating what to do next, and then didn’t hear another word from him, just kept going to Dublin. Stewards were great after initial panic though.”
A spokesperson for Qatar Airways said: “Qatar Airways can confirm that flight QR017 a Boeing B787-9 from Doha to Dublin has landed safely. A small number of passengers and crew sustained minor injuries in flight and are now receiving medical attention.
“The matter is now subject to an internal investigation. The safety and security of our passengers and crew are our top priority.”
It comes after a British man died on a Singapore Airlines flight after extreme turbulence on a Heathrow-Singapore journey..
Geoffrey Kitchen, a 73-year-old musical theatre director from Gloucestershire died from a suspected heart attack, officials said.
More than 70 people were injured in the incident, with Mr Kitchen’s wife Linda thought to be among those in hospital, she suffered serious spinal injuries.
The retired insurance worker and his wife were heading abroad on a six-week holiday of a lifetime to South East Asia, Indonesia and Australia when disaster struck around 11 hours into their flight from Heathrow.
The aircraft hit an air pocket and plummeted an astonishing 6,000ft in just five minutes, with the sudden drop unleashing mayhem onboard and forcing the plane to make an emergency landing at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport.
Terrified passengers have described how they had little to no warning to put their seatbelts on before the aircraft suddenly dropped while the crew were serving breakfast, with one passenger saying people were ‘launched into the ceiling’ as the plane fell through the sky.
Of the 211 passengers and 18 crew on board, Thai authorities said 71 people had been sent for treatment, six of whom were seriously injured, with many sustaining lacerations to the head as they were thrown upwards.
Close friend Steve Dimond, 73, who lives a few doors down from Mr Kitchen’s three-bed home in leafy Thornbury, said: “You wouldn’t know it, he carried on as normal and was very fit and active.;He was very involved with amateur dramatics and was helping me make scenery for our new production. He was a good singer, a fine actor, he was on the committee, he loved musical theatre. He and his wife like live music, all sorts, folk jazz, everything. He’s known his wife since they were teenagers, they are a lovely couple.,” Qatar Airways ran into difficulty in February last year when one of its Boeing Dreamliners came within seconds of hitting the water after taking off from Hamad International Airport, the carrier’s hub in Doha.
The 787-8, registration A7-BCO, departed Doha at 2am on January 10 (11pm GMT, January 9), bound for Copenhagen.
But leaving the ground the Dreamliner, with the first officer in control, climbed to around 1,800 feet – but then lost 1,000 feet within 24 seconds for reasons unknown, according to the AV Herald.
With the aircraft descending at a rate of 50 feet a second, the captain took over, pulling the aircraft up at around 800 feet – or 16 seconds – above the Persian Gulf, narrowly missing a crash into the sea. The airline launched an investigation into the incident.
• Source: Mail Online News
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