Dozens injured, hospitalized after unusual turbulence on Turkish Airways flight to New York
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}More than 30 people were injured while aboard a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to New York after severe turbulence caused passengers to be thrown from their seats (AP)
More than 30 people were injured aboard a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to New York after severe turbulence caused passengers to be thrown from their seats.
Videos and photos from the plane show a chaotic scene with blood smeared on the ceiling as passengers can be heard weeping and praying. The turbulence began about 40 minutes before the 10-hour long flight was set to land at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City on Saturday. Steve Coleman, spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said that 28 people were taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens to treat injuries, which included one flight attendant's broken leg.
The airline said it is “deeply saddened by this unfortunate experience, and closely monitors the health status of injured passengers, and is making resources available to them.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to passengers, the Boeing 777 made a sudden drop quickly and unexpectedly, causing a mass number of injuries to take place.
“There was like one or two seconds when it was subtle, but then it really started to pick up,” passenger Amir Mehrbakhsh said. "Just because the drop was so sudden, a lot of people got lifted up and hit their head either on the ceiling or on the side of the plane, and so there were a lot of injuries pretty quickly.”
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Other passengers were displeased with the way the Turkish Airlines staff handled the situation, saying that they weren't notified that they should expect turbulence, and the seatbelt lights were not on.
“Nobody announced it or anything like that so we figured out something was wrong,” passenger Sead Nikaj told ABC News. “Then I see people start flying on the plane. Then seeing blood all over. I had one of the ladies next to me, she really fell down from her seat on the floor and all her back was completely bloody, while someone that was working in the airplane, she cracked her leg I think completely.”
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It was the second mishap on Saturday involving a plane in the New York metropolitan area.
Earlier in the day, Newark Liberty International Airport temporarily closed its runways after a flight from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was forced to make an emergency landing because of smoke in its cargo hold.