Severe turbulence rocked a Korean Air flight, injuring 14 individuals.

The flight, traveling from South Korea’s Incheon Airport to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, carried 281 passengers.

“The plane experienced acute turbulence an hour after leaving Incheon Airport as it flew near China’s Tianjin Airport at an altitude of 34,100 feet,” JoongAng Daily reports.

“A Korean Air flight operated by an Airbus A330 aircraft (HL7584) caught by severe Turbulence, left 10 passengers and four cabin crew members injured. On Sunday around 8am local time, Korean Air flight KE197 departed from the Seoul Incheon International Airport and headed to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia,” aviation news page FL360aero wrote.

“Just over an hour into the flight, as it neared Tianjin Airport in China, there were 15 seconds of mayhem. According to the Korea JoongAng Daily, people screamed as severe turbulence rocked the aircraft carrying 281 passengers,” it added.

JoongAng Daily reports:

Ten passengers and four flight attendants reported back and neck pain, but none were seriously injured, Korean Air said.

The airline explained that the plane was flown around an area near Tianjin Airport experiencing lightning and thunder. The in-flight meal service was halted and passengers were advised to remain in their seats and fasten their seat belts.

Korean Air supplied passengers with anti-inflammatory painkillers on the flight, and a medical team waiting at Ulaanbaatar treated the patients right after the plane touched down. All passengers went through immigration without any problems.

“Just as I was about to finish eating the in-flight meal, turbulence started and the plane descended rapidly, people were screaming, all the plates were overturned and there was chaos,” X user @pinkteest commented (translated).

From the New York Post:

“People who weren’t wearing seat belts shot up into the air,” said passenger Kim Hae-in, a travel blogger.

“One passenger bounced really high, hit their head on the ceiling and dropped into the aisle.”

“The turbulence started around the time people were finished eating,” another passenger added. “The airplane sharply plunged so people were screaming and the meals were all knocked over, it was chaotic.”

Photos of the aftermath showed food, cutlery and trays strewn throughout the aisles.

“We advise passengers to minimize moving around the plane while it is in the air and to always fasten their seat belts when seated,” the airline said in a statement, according to the New York Post.

Two incidents involving turbulence in May shook the airline industry.

One individual died and dozens others sustained injuries after a Singapore Airlines Boeing flight encountered severe turbulence and plunged several thousand feet.

BREAKING: One Dead, Dozens Injured On Commercial Flight, ‘Severe Turbulence’

12 individuals sustained injuries aboard a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Dublin, Ireland, after turbulence impacted the aircraft.

‘Extreme Turbulence’ Injures 12 On Commercial Flight

 

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.


We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.