On Air Europa flight, man stuck in overhead bin during turbulence; 40 injured

At least 40 passengers were injured when an Air Europa flight from Madrid to Montevideo hit strong turbulence, prompting an emergency landing in Brazil, reported news agency AFP.

The plane, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with 325 people on board, was diverted in the early morning hours to the airport of Natal in northeast Brazil.

The health secretariat of Brazil’s Rio Grande do Norte state told AFP that those injured were taken to hospitals and clinics in Natal for treatment of “abrasions and minor traumas”. Of them, eleven remain hospitalised.

Videos shared on social media showed ceiling panels coming loose during the incident. Another video showed the turbulence, which caused one passenger to be stuck in an overhead compartment.

Mariela Jodal, who said she was among the passengers, wrote on X that several people were injured in “very strong turbulence,” but she was spared “thanks to the seat belt.”

In a statement, Air Europa said a plane was being sent from Madrid to collect the passengers while the stricken Boeing is examined for damage in Natal.

The incident comes after a Singapore Airlines-operated Boeing 777 in May experienced extreme turbulence that left one passenger dead. The flight from London and was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok.

Several other passengers and crew suffered skull, brain and spine injuries when the plane hit sudden extreme turbulence at 37,000 feet over the Irrawaddy Basin.

A week later, 12 people were injured when a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Dublin struck severe bumps.

Turbulence-related airline accidents are the most common type, according to a 2021 study by the US National Transportation Safety Board.

From 2009 through 2018, the US agency found that turbulence accounted for more than a third of reported airline accidents and most resulted in one or more serious injuries, but no aircraft damage.