An international trip to Frankfurt, Germany wasn’t without a rough patch or two. During a shaky experience, close to a dozen people on board the Lufthansa aircraft were injured, including six crew members.
The flight occurred during an overnight Monday flight. Despite the “brief” episode of turbulence, the Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet landed successfully in Germany with medical staff tending to injured passengers and crew members.
Turbulence on Lufthansa
A total of 329 passengers and 19 crew members were en route from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Frankfurt, Germany. At one point during the flight over the Atlantic Ocean, the aircraft shook heavily.
No more than 11 people on board were reportedly injured, including six crew members and five passengers.
The aircraft landed safely on Tuesday at 953 General Mountain Time, in which injured passengers received immediate medical treatment.
A Lufthansa spokesperson responded to the media for comment on the incident. The spokesperson explained that the turbulence occurred during a “intertropical convergence zone”. This zone refers to a band of low pressure where winds from the northeast and southeast meet near the equator.
The spokesperson stressed that the incident did not affect the aircraft or endanger the passengers once the turbulence ended. “The safety of the flight was not endangered at any time,” the spokesperson wrote.
The airline stressed that passengers must fasten their seatbelts as soon as they take their seats, though more than half the people injured on board consisted of crew members. Details of the injuries on board were not available, though Lufthansa confirmed all the injuries were considered “minor”.
Back in May, a Singapore Airlines flight suffered major turbulence over Myanmar. The plane took off from London, England on the way to Singapore. The aircraft dipped 54 meters in mere seconds, lifting unsecured passengers towards the ceiling, then back down into the aisle and seats.
One passenger died from a heart attack while 104 more were injured on the flight to Singapore.
