On Monday, a routine Air Europa flight from Madrid to Montevideo turned perilous as severe turbulence struck, leading to an emergency landing in Brazil’s Natal airport.
Air Europa flight turbulence caught on camera
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The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, carrying up to 339 passengers, was diverted following the turbulence, which caused injuries to 30 passengers, per CNN.
Air Europa confirmed the incident on social media, stating:
“Our flight UX045 bound for Montevideo has been diverted to the Natal airport (in Brazil) due to strong turbulence. The plane has landed normally and those who sustained different types of injuries are already being treated.”
The incident was partially caught on camera, showing the chaotic moments inside the cabin.
Passengers without seat belts were thrown into the air, hitting the ceiling. Maximiliano, one of the passengers, recounted to Reuters:
“From one moment to the next, the plane destabilized and went into a dive. The people who didn’t have seat belts went up in the air and hit the ceiling, and they got hurt – those who had seat belts on, not so much.”
The horror that unfolded inside the Boeing 787
The turbulence struck unexpectedly, sending passengers and unsecured items flying through the cabin.
Stevan, another passenger, described the terrifying experience to Reuters:
“There are passengers with fractures and injuries to their arms, faces, and legs. There are about 30 people injured. It was a pretty horrible feeling; we thought we were going to die there, but thank God it didn’t happen.”
Upon landing in Natal, emergency services quickly attended to the injured passengers, providing necessary medical care at the airport.
Air Europa arranged for another aircraft to transport the uninjured passengers from Brazil to their final destination in Uruguay later that day.
This incident has once again placed Boeing under scrutiny.
While no direct evidence has linked the turbulence-related injuries to any malfunction of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, Boeing has faced a series of safety concerns in recent years.
Last week, a whistleblower alleged that parts of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners were built unsafely, raising concerns about the potential for catastrophic failures.
Previous whistleblowers, including Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour, have reported similar issues, prompting investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and potential criminal charges by the US Department of Justice.