Passengers, crew hurt as turbulence jolts jumbo

By AINSLEY THOMSON

A crew member was knocked unconscious and several passengers injured when a United Airlines jumbo hit severe turbulence over the Pacific tonight.

The aircraft was forced to make an emergency detour to Auckland. It landed about 11pm.

The flight from Sydney to San Francisco was four hours into its journey when it hit "clear air " turbulence.

Passenger Julie Greenwood, from San Francisco, said the turbulence lasted about 30 seconds.

"It was like and earthquake in the air I was lifted out of my chair twice."

She said the incident was terrifying and was especially concerned when her 18 month old daughter Stella briefly passed out.

Mary Brander, 77, from Sydney, said she was lucky to be sitting down when the aircraft rocked violently.

"It was so unexpected the bottom seemed to be falling out of the plane. One minute we were in clear blue sky and it hit."

The worst injured were at the rear of the plane, including a flight attendant and a person who was in a toilet.

Julie Greenwood said a female attendant was knocked out and badly injured when she was pinned under a food trolley.

She suffered leg fractures and was admitted, along with three passengers and another crew member, to Middlemore Hospital early today.

The others had minor injuries, including cuts and bruises.

Crew, helped by three doctors and a vet on board the Boeing 747-400, treated some of the injured as the aircraft headed for Auckland.

Four ambulances were at Auckland Airport to assess the passengers when Flight UA 862 landed.

It was carrying 269 passengers and 21 crew.

The aircraft was over Tonga when the pilot decided to detour to Auckland, the closest large city with medical facilities.

Airline officials said the decision was made for "passenger safety".

The aircraft landed without incident. Passengers were taken through Auckland Airport and put up in hotels overnight. They are expected to continued their journey later today.

The flight left Sydney at 3.35pm (NZ time) and turned back about 7.35pm.

"Clear air turbulence" occurs when a plane hits a sudden change in air conditions in no cloud, much like a boat hitting a huge wave. It is sometimes associated with jet streams between Australia and Indonesia.

In April 2000, seven Korean Air passengers and a crew member were injured when their New Zealand-bound airliner plummeted up to 100m. The Boeing 777 struck heavy clear-air turbulence about five hours after takeoff from Seoul.

In 1996, a Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400 hit severe turbulence over the Southern Alps, leaving 11 crew with moderate injuries, including a fractured wrist and broken arm.

The plane plunged dramatically when it hit clear air turbulence in strong northwest winds at a height of 2440m.

Four years ago, a 32-year-old Japanese woman died when a United Airlines flight dropped 300m on a flight between Tokyo and Honolulu. Eighty-three people, including nine attendants, were also hurt.