A passenger was scalded by hot coffee and a staff member was catapulted to the aircraft ceiling after an Air New Zealand flight was struck by severe turbulence. The incident happened on June 16 when the Airbus A320 was flying from the capital, Wellington, to Queenstown, the Independent reported.

The passenger, identified as “Suze,” said that the flight had been up in the air for 15 minutes when the drink cart began making its way down the aisle. However, when the cart stopped next to her, the plane suddenly jolted with strong turbulence. As a result, one flight attendant flew up to the ceiling while the coffee pot lids came off and spilt hot coffee onto the passenger’s abdomen and back.

”There’s nothing you can do. You’re strapped in, you want to stay strapped in, there could be more turbulence and then you’ve got to deal with the level of burns you’ve just received. I was able to get hold of a bottle of cold water and start dousing myself and I was able to speak to the hostess who was still lying on the floor and said ‘Is it alright if I get water everywhere cos that’s what I’m going to be doing?’ and she said ‘go for it’,” the woman said. 

Luckily, a paramedic happened to be sitting right behind her and was able to help treat her.

The NZ Herald reported that the two were taken from the aircraft and escorted to the nearby Lake District Hospital in a “moderate” condition. After the terrifying incident, the passenger said she wanted Air New Zealand to reconsider serving hot drinks on short flights and improve the lids on their coffee pots.

Air NZ’s Chief Operational Integrity and Safety Officer Captain David Morgan said the company is reviewing its operating procedures to ensure the safety of its customers and crew members.

”The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is our number one priority, and our crew are trained to respond to these situations. Our operating procedures outline our onboard response to different levels of turbulence, including detailing when passengers and crew are required to take their seats during the flight. From time to time, clear-air turbulence can occur where rough air is not visible to the flight crew,” Mr Morgan said.

”We’re always reviewing our operating procedures in line with both regulation and international best practice to ensure the safety of our customers and crew is prioritised,” he added.

Severe turbulence is caused by an erratic wind current occurring in cloudless regions of the sky at the cruising altitude of passenger jets.

 

Twelve people – including six crew members –  were injured after a Qatar Airways plane was hit by turbulence during its flight from Doha to Dublin today, five days after a passenger was killed and dozens injured on a Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore.

A post by Dublin Airport on X (formerly Twitter) confirmed that six passengers and six crew members were injured after the aircraft experienced turbulence while it was flying over Turkey. 

“Qatar Airways flight QR017 from Doha landed safely as scheduled at Dublin Airport shortly before 13.00 on Sunday. Upon landing, the aircraft was met by emergency services, including Airport Police and our Fire and Rescue department, due to 6 passengers and 6 crew [12 total] on board reporting injuries after the aircraft experienced turbulence while airborne over Turkey,” it said in a statement.

13.30 update:

Qatar Airways flight QR017 from Doha landed safely as scheduled at Dublin Airport shortly before 13.00 on Sunday. Upon landing, the aircraft was met by emergency services, including Airport Police and our Fire and Rescue department, due to 6 passengers and 6… pic.twitter.com/nB2F4BOcI5

— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) May 26, 2024

The Dublin Airport team continues to provide full assistance on the ground to passengers and airline staff, it added.

Singapore Airlines Flight Chaos

The Singapore Airlines flight carrying 211 passengers was forced to land in Bangkok due to severe turbulence, which killed a 73-year-old British man and left 20 others in intensive care. Passengers and crew on the flight sustained skull, brain, and spine injuries as they were tossed violently around the cabin.

Videos and photos taken inside the plane showed the cabin in chaos with food and luggage scattered everywhere and oxygen masks dangling from the ceiling.

Singapore’s transport minister said that investigators are analysing a cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder. Flight tracking data shows the Boeing 777-300ER plunged 1,800 metres (6,000 feet) in just a few minutes, with passengers saying it happened so suddenly there was no time for many to fasten their seatbelts.

After the incident, Singapore Airlines has tightened seatbelt rules on its flights and introduced a “more cautious approach” to turbulence.

Turbulence-related airline accidents are the most common type, according to a 2021 study by the US National Transportation Safety Board. Experts say that passengers are often too casual about wearing seatbelts, leaving them at risk if the plane hits unexpected turbulence.

The US agency found that turbulence accounted for more than a third of reported airline accidents from 2009 through 2018, and most resulted in one or more serious injuries, but no aircraft damage.