On a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Dublin yesterday, passengers reported severe turbulence and chaos on board as the aircraft abruptly dropped hundreds of feet without any prior warning.
Twelve people were injured in the incident; eight of them were hospitalized when the plane landed in Dublin. Travellers were shocked to hear that flight attendants were thrown into the air and struck the aircraft ceiling.
Flight gone wrong
Emma Rose Power, one of the travellers said that there was panic and chaos everywhere.
There was panic, the look of panic everywhere. Some of the flight attendants had scratches to their face, ice to their face… one girl had a sling on her arm.
Emma Rose Power
One passenger, named Cathal, said: “It was just atrocious… never again,” demonstrating how his shorts had come apart during his being thrown around the cabin.
Another traveller, Eileen, claimed to have never had a worse experience on a plane. She described how her partner Tony had to restrain her in order to prevent her from being thrown from her chair because she had been dozing off without a seatbelt.
It happened only a few days after a Singapore Airlines flight over Myanmar last week experienced severe turbulence, resulting in the death of a 73-year-old British man and the injuries of over 100 others.
“It was really scary”.
Passengers on a flight from Qatar to Ireland describe the moment they experienced turbulence while airborne over Turkey during the food and drinks service. Six passengers and six cabin crew were injured during the turbulence | https://t.co/XkruwzQHZa pic.twitter.com/PfX3vKbCF9— RTÉ News (@rtenews) May 26, 2024
The turbulence, according to Dublin Airport, happened as flight QR17, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner operated by Qatar Airways, crossed over Iraq and entered Turkish airspace, injuring six passengers and six crew members.
Emergency services were waiting on the tarmac to receive eight victims who needed to be hospitalized. They were transported to medical facilities in Dublin.
As the flight entered turbulence just as the flight attendants were serving food, several passengers told the Irish broadcaster RTE how the cabin suddenly descended into chaos.
Returning from a vacation in Thailand, Conor Buckley said:
We felt the plane dip for about five seconds and next to us we saw the flight attendant just go up in the air and come straight back down.
Conor Buckley
Paul Mocc praised the crew for persevering in their work despite injuries, even though he described how people had hit the roof during the chaos and that refreshments ended up all over the cabin.
You could see people hit the roof, food and things everywhere… they were serving food at the time so a lot of the crew were injured, but they did a really good job of continuing the service despite limping round with bandages and everything .
Paul Mocc
Game developer Adam Dalton likened the turbulent moment to a “rollercoaster drop.”
Just before 1:00 pm on Sunday, Dublin Airport said in a statement that the Qatar Airways flight had safely touched down as planned.
Following the aircraft’s landing in the Irish capital, emergency personnel, including ambulances, could be seen on the ground nearby. Despite reports of food flying everywhere and panic spreading throughout the cabin, passengers complimented the air stewards on board.
Hard to say – the whole thing felt like it lasted say 3-5 seconds probably. Food and drink everywhere so was all a bit of a shock. 🤣
— Adam Dalton (@robotiguy) May 26, 2024
Deputy Director of Communications Kevin Cullinane of daa, Dublin Airport’s operator, stated: ‘The Dublin Airport team continues to provide full assistance on the ground to passengers and airline crew.’
Before getting off the aircraft, every passenger had their injuries evaluated, and eight of them were sent to the hospital, according to an updated statement released by Dublin Airport at 3 p.m.
According to the statement, before 1300 on Sunday, Qatar Airways flight QR017 from Doha made a safe, planned landing at Dublin Airport.
Upon landing, the aircraft was met by emergency services, including airport police and our fire and rescue department, due to six passengers and six crew (12 total) on board reporting injuries after the aircraft experienced turbulence while airborne over Turkey.
Who said this??
Every passenger had their injuries evaluated before getting off the plane. Following that, eight passengers were brought to the hospital.
“Qatar Airways can confirm that flight QR017, a Boeing B787-9 from Doha to Dublin, has landed safely,” a spokesman for the airline stated. A small number of crew members and passengers suffered minor injuries during the flight, and they are currently receiving medical care.
The matter is now subject to an internal investigation. The safety and security of our passengers and crew are our top priority.
Qatar Airways spokeperson
This incident comes after a much more catastrophic episode of turbulence last week on a Singapore Airlines flight from Heathrow to Singapore, which left about 80 people hospitalized and resulted in the death of a British man.
The aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok after it struck an air pocket and fell an incredible 6,000 feet in just three minutes. The sudden drop caused chaos inside the aircraft.
According to Thai authorities, out of the 211 passengers and 18 crew members on board, 71 had been hospitalized, with 20 of them being in critical condition.
Over a hundred individuals received injuries that needed medical attention.
Investigators from Singapore’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau have been dispatched to Bangkok to begin an investigation into the incident.
Since the event involved a Boeing aircraft, the US National Transportation Safety Board also dispatched an accredited representative and four technical advisors to assist with the review.
