12 Injured After Turbulence on Flight From Qatar to Ireland

26.05.2024 - 17:33 / nytimes.com

Twelve people were injured on Sunday during turbulence on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha that landed safely as scheduled in Ireland, the Dublin Airport said.

The plane, a Boeing B787-9, was flying over Turkey when it encountered turbulence, injuring six passengers and six crew members, the Dublin Airport said on social media.

The flight landed in Dublin just before 1 p.m. local time and was met by emergency medical workers, the airport said.

Passengers were checked for injuries before leaving the plane, and eight people were taken to a hospital.

Dublin Airport said that its operations were not affected and that the airline’s return flight to Doha was still scheduled to depart later on Sunday.

Qatar Airways said in a statement that “a small number” of passengers on the flight, QR017, had minor injuries.

“The matter is now subject to an internal investigation,” the airline said. “The safety and security of our passengers and crew are our top priority.”

The flight lasted seven hours and 35 minutes according to Flight Aware, a flight tracking website. The flight continued for more than three hours after passing over Turkey, according to tracking data.

The injuries come after a rare death from turbulence occurred during a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday.

A 73-year-old man from Britain died and dozens of people were injured during the flight, which left from London and was flying over Myanmar when it hit what the airline described as “sudden extreme turbulence.”

The plane, a Boeing 777-300ER, made an emergency landing in Bangkok, Thailand.

Singapore Airlines said in a statement on Sunday that 40 passengers and a crew member who were on the flight were still hospitalized in Bangkok. There were 211 passengers on the 13-hour flight.

Though turbulence on a flight can be intense and severe, it is rare for it to result in a death.

There were 163 passengers and crew members seriously injured by turbulence on aircraft registered in the United States from 2009 to 2022, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.