Six persons were injured on board a Jet Airways plane after it struck severe turbulence en route to Thiruvananthapuram from Dammam on Sunday.
The injured were given medical assistance after the 9W 656 flight landed at the Thiruvananthapuram airport at 7.03 a.m. Two of them — Biju Kumar of Alappuzha and Siva of Parasala — were shifted to an adjacent private hospital, airport sources said.
The airport authorities were ready with the ambulance after the commander reported of the turbulence to the Air Traffic Control. There were 153 passengers in the flight that took off from Dammam in Saudi Arabia at 11.47 p.m.
The incident occurred 400 km from the international airport and when the aircraft was flying around 30,000 ft. above the Arabian Sea. Many of the passengers had gone to sleep after food when the turbulence hit the plane.
“There was screaming and crying. The aircraft jolted thrice from side to side and we thought it was going to crash. Food spilled all over the cabin. The injured were those who did not keep their seat belts fastened,’’ one of the passenger said.
Mr. Siva was discharged from the private hospital after preliminary treatment. Mr. Biju Kumar, who suffered neck injuries, is under observation.
The aircraft after a detailed inspection returned to Muscat as scheduled, airline sources said. It is the first incident in recent times here.
An Air Traffic Controller told The Hindu that ‘clean air turbulence’ occurred without warning. Passengers who did not wear seat belts were most likely to be thrown off from their seats, he said.
