The New York Fire Department were first to the scene initially reporting 32 passengers injured. Photo / Twitter, @Van_Tieu
The New York Fire Department were first to the scene initially reporting 32 passengers injured. Photo / Twitter, @Van_Tieu
Dramatic scenes emerged on Saturday at New York's busiest airport, after twenty-nine passengers arrived needing treatment for injuries suffered during violent turbulence. Cuts, bruises and a broken leg were received by passengers preparing to land at JFK International.
The inbound Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul hit extreme turbulence around 45 minutesprior to landing sending passengers and crew flying.
"... 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, " Amir Mehrbakhsh a passenger on the flight told AP.
Flight data showed the service TK1 dropped hundreds of feet with little warning.
The patch of violent turbulence was encountered over the US state of Maine. The US Weather service had issued advisories to pilots on Saturday with warnings to expect rough flying conditions.
Injured passengers were met by emergency services, including the New York Fire Department, at the arrivals terminal after the plane finally touched down at 5.35pm. Steve Coleman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that 28 people injured during the flight were taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Centre in Queens. This included a member of the Turkish Airlines cabin crew who received a broken leg.
FDNY: up to 32 patients being treated at JFK. FAA: Turkish Airlines Flight 1, Boeing 777, landed safely at 5:35 p.m. after declaring aemergency and reporting that several passengers were injured when the aircraft encountered turbulence. @NY1pic.twitter.com/q9QedSMQQc
The flight operator Turkish Airlines issued a statement regarding the flight, saying it is "deeply saddened by this unfortunate experience, and closely monitors the health status of injured passengers, and is making resources available to them."
The flight had been carrying 326 passengers and eighteen crew members.
While the New York Fire Department downgraded its initial injury report from 32 to 29, the incident was alarming for both passengers and those in the busy airport arrivals lounge.
At least 30 people have suffered minor injures on Turkish Airlines flight #TK1 that encountered severe turbulence before it landed Saturday at New York's JFK Airport. pic.twitter.com/Ns27YnZmWq
While the violent turbulence affecting flight TK1 can seen as a freak incident, climate scientists suggest that incidents are on the rise. Professor Paul D. Williams of Reading University's Department of Meteorology predicts that transatlantic crossings will only get rougher in reaction to climate change.
"The prevalence of transatlantic wintertime clear-air turbulence will increase significantly in all aviation-relevant strength categories as the climate changes," wrote the academic in a 2017 research paper and highlighted by Travel and Leisure's coverage of transatlantic turbulence.
