Extreme turbulence on flight sends drinks, passengers, hitting cabin ceiling

Turbulence is a bane of air travel, but it's just one of those things we've come to accept. But when a mid-air 'road-bump' sends drinks and passengers hitting the ceiling? Terrifying.

An American Airlines flight left passengers severely rattled and some injured, after "extreme turbulence" on a 10-hour flight from Athens, Greece to Philadelphia, US saw drinks and people hitting the cabin ceiling.

The incident last Saturday (Aug 5) was unexpected and happened just half an hour before the plane was scheduled to land.

10 passengers and crew had to be ferried to hospital after the Airbus A333 plane touched down in Philadelphia.

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The drop had happened quickly and many did not have time to return to their seats after the captain's announcement. Flight attendants, who had been handing out the last round of drinks to passengers, were also caught unawares.

A passenger, Alex Ehmke, told NBC news that a few seconds of turbulence was followed by a sudden "lurch", which "felt like the whole plane was in free fall". He described how he was lifted in the air and saw his field of vision move upwards "by about 4 feet (1.2m)".

Another passenger on the flight, Ervin Fang, shared videos of the aftermath on Twitter, describing how passengers were "disoriented and relieved" after the turbulence.

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In one clip shared by Fang, drink stains can be seen on the cabin ceiling and luggage compartment, while babies screamed in the background. One passenger was seen burying her face in a blanket.

The captain was heard on the announcement system apologising for the "unexpected bumpiness":

"We really apologise for the unexpected bumpiness," he says. "We were expecting some light turbulence... It was totally unexpected."

"Again we sincerely apologise," the captain continued.

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The aisles were a mess after the incident as stray pillows, drink bottles and rubbish were left strewn on the floor.

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New York Daily News reported that three passengers and seven crew members were taken to hospital.

According to Ehmke, a passenger in the row behind him had hit the ceiling and landed on his father seated beside him. He was reportedly one of the passengers who had to be hospitalised.

American Airlines has released the following statement on the incident, stating that the seat belt sign was on at the time:

"American Airlines flight 759 from Athens, Greece to Philadelphia International Airport briefly encountered severe turbulence shortly before landing safely in Philadelphia. The seat belt sign was on at the time.

"Three passengers and seven crew members were transported to a local hospital for evaluation. We are taking care of our passengers and our crew members at this time and want to thank our team members for keeping our passengers safe."

This is just another reminder to always keep our seatbelts on when we're seated in an airplane.

candicec@sph.com.sg