SHANGHAI: At least 17 people were hurt in powerful turbulence encountered on a flight from Frankfurt, Germany, to Shanghai on Monday.
Air China flight CA936 was scheduled to take off at 8pm Frankfurt time and arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 12:55pm – a flight of approximately 11 hours.
The flight encountered severe turbulence as it entered the Shanghai region that resulted in injuries to four male and 13 female passengers, including a senior German couple above age 70.
The injured were “passengers who did not buckle up and stewards who were patrolling the cabin and serving passengers”, said a statement from Air China.
“The crew sent an emergency notice to the ground immediately,” it said, and ambulances took the injured to Pudong New Area People’s Hospital for medical treatment immediately upon landing.
By 2pm on Monday, four passengers and two flight attendants remained hospitalised for observation and treatment.
Two other passengers were discharged.
“Thunderstorms are taking place often nationwide at the moment, so it is common for aircraft to encounter severe turbulence. Passengers are requested to fasten their seat belts throughout the flight,” said Li Lei, an industrial analyst who specialises in aviation research at Beijing-based Minzu Securities.
“The continuous expansion of aviation companies’ fleets has also increased the number of encounters with turbulent air in flight, but meteorological forecasts are also becoming more precise,” Li said.
