‘Severe’ turbulence but no injuries in Gisborne to Auckland flight

This was the aircraft type, a Bombardier Q300, involved in Friday morning's turbulent flight from Gisborne to Auckland. There were no reports of injury.

Passengers on the 6.15am Air New Zealand flight from Gisborne to Auckland on Friday had a trip to remember when they hit “severe” turbulence while over the Bay of Plenty.

It was described by a passenger who contacted the Gisborne Herald as “unreal” – like nothing she had ever experienced flying before.

She wanted to remain anonymous for privacy reasons.

“It happened about 25 minutes after we took off from Gisborne, and it was pretty frightening,” the woman said.

“The air hostess was starting to bring coffee and tea down the aisle when it happened.

“We were passing through a thunderstorm at the time.

“There was a massive drop in the aircraft’s flight, like it hit a big air pocket, and the drink cups went flying,” she said.

“There was coffee and tea all over the roof of the cabin. We had our seat belts on, but that didn’t stop us coming up in our seats a bit.”

The woman said it caught everyone off-guard.

“There were a few concerned faces – that’s for sure.

“Everyone seemed a bit stunned by it all, but there was no one injured to my knowledge.”

Air NZ chief safety and risk officer Nathan McGraw said Flight NZ5160 from Gisborne to Auckland encountered an area of turbulence on Friday morning.

“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is our number one priority and our crew are trained to respond to these situations. There were no injuries reported,” McGraw said.

The woman passenger said the pilot apologised and offered to chat to anyone who needed to talk it about when they landed safely in Auckland.

“I was more than happy to get off, so I didn’t stop for a chat.”