Terrifying footage from a Boeing aircraft shows the harrowing moment when severe turbulence caused chaos in the cabin, resulting in one unfastened passenger being flung into an overhead luggage bin.
During the frightening ordeal on an Air Europa Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner en route to Uruguay, blood was smeared across the interior after 30 passengers sustained injuries. The plane encountered violent turbulence over the Atlantic, catapulting anyone and anything not secured into the air.
The dramatic scene captured on video shows the legs of a passenger protruding from an overhead compartment, having been thrown up during the incident. In response to the event, Air Europa released a statement: “The plane has landed normally and the injuries of varying degrees that were recorded are already being treated.”
Before the weekend flight UX045 from Spain plunged into the turbulent zone, the pilot had instructed passengers to take their seats and fasten their seatbelts. Initially, the disturbance was minor, but it quickly escalated as the Boeing aircraft experienced a significant drop.
A passenger recounted the experience to Spanish media, saying: “The sensation was terrifying, feeling like you were falling and that it was never going to end. And you were aware that you were falling at an incalculable speed,” reports the Mirror.
“And you felt like it was going to end there, that you were going to die. Until we started to see on the screen that the plane was starting to rise,” recounted the lawyer who was embarking on a 40-day trip to Europe for work and tourism.
Passengers aboard the ill-fated flight shared harrowing images showing the aftermath of the severe turbulence, with cabin panels torn from the ceiling and passengers thrown violently around the aircraft’s interior. One shaken passenger recounted: “Those who did not have seatbelts flew and some remained hooked to the roof.”
The terrifying ordeal lasted mere seconds but resulted in numerous passengers sustaining serious injuries. Uruguay’s foreign minister confirmed that the aircraft made an urgent landing in Natal, where the 30 injured individuals were taken to Monsenhor Walfredo Gurgel Hospital for treatment.
Additional footage from the turbulent flight UX045 captured the moment fellow travellers assisted a man trapped in an overhead bin, yanking him free by his legs, while others lay immobilised on the floor, braced in neck supports.
Aviation specialists reviewing the available flight data suggested that a sudden deceleration might be behind the spate of injuries. Aviation analyst Jacob Philip commented on X: “It seems the injuries and damages during the turbulence happened aboard Air Europa UX045 Madrid to Uruguay flight was not because of a sudden drop in altitude.
“The FlightRadar24 data shows a sudden drop in speed by 259kmph in 27 sec,” though the data does also show a dip in altitude.”
Jacob went on to say: “This deceleration can cause unrestrained passengers to move forward with very high speed.”
