Two aviation experts say the occurrence of two major air turbulence incidents within a week are not linked and many of the problems endured by passengers can be easily avoided.
On May 27, 12 passengers and crew suffered injuries after a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Dublin encountered strong turbulence, while on May 22, one man died and several passengers were injured after a Singapore Airlines plane encountered extreme turbulence en route to London.
Dublin Airport released a statement about the Qatar Airways flight incident in the early hours.
The statement said flight QR017, which had taken off from Qatar’s capital, landed safely in Dublin after encountering the turbulence over Turkey.
“Upon landing, the aircraft was met by emergency services, including airport police and our fire and rescue department, due to six passengers and six crew on board reporting injuries after the aircraft experienced turbulence while airborne over Turkey,” the statement on X said.
“All passengers were assessed for injury prior to disembarking the aircraft.
“Eight passengers were subsequently taken to hospital.”
Dublin Airport said the return flight to Doha was scheduled to go ahead, albeit with delays.
“Flight operations at Dublin Airport were unaffected and continue as normal this afternoon,” the statement said.
Irish media service RTE shared video to social media of passengers talking about the terrifying experience aboard the plane, which struck during the food and drink service.
Two Incidents Likely a Coincidence, Says Aviation Expert
Eight Australians were injured in last week’s Singapore Airlines incident, but Aviation Projects managing director and aviation expert, Keith Tonkin, told The Epoch Times the two events were likely just coincidence.Mr. Tonkin said the flights involved different airlines flying over different parts of the world with different operations.
“The seatbelt sign wasn’t on and there was a meal service at the time [of the Qatar Airways turbulence],” he said.
“It doesn’t have to be much of a bump.”
Mr. Tonkin said the fact the pilot decided to continue to its destination and not divert showed the turbulence was less severe than that aboard the Singapore Airlines flight last week.
“The aircraft went on its way,” he said.
Mr. Tonkin said the most important factor in avoiding injury from turbulence aboard a flight was minimising the amount of time without a seatbelt on.
He said that while turbulence was something that happened aboard flights quite routinely, it was also important to maintain a “heightened awareness” of it.
Ian Douglas, a senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) School of Aviation, told The Epoch Times that all passengers who had their seatbelts fastened aboard the Singapore Airlines flight were not injured.
“Keep your seatbelt fastened, just as the safety instructions advise,” he said.
According to the Australian Civil Aviation Authority (CASA), there are six categories of turbulence.
The mildest form of turbulence is known as “light chop” which can cause some slight bumps.
The categories then range through light turbulence, to moderate chop, moderate turbulence, and severe turbulence.
The worst category is known as extreme turbulence, and involved the aircraft being violently tossed around is impossible to control. It can also cause damage to the plane.
While the lighter forms of turbulence are common, severe and extreme turbulence events are considered somewhat rare.
