Mid-air turbulence on Airbus: 46 hurt

Perth, Oct. 7: Thirty-six passengers and crew were injured, some seriously, in a mid-air drama that forced a Qantas jetliner to make an emergency landing on Tuesday, the Australian carrier and the police said.

The terrifying incident saw the Airbus A330-300 issue a mayday call when it suddenly changed altitude during a flight from Singapore to Perth, Qantas said.

It was the latest in a series of incidents that have tarnished the safety record of Qantas, which has long boasted a reputation of being one of the world’s safest airlines.

"A number of passengers and crew sustained injuries, including fractures and lacerations, on board QF72 on Tuesday afternoon en route from Singapore to Perth following a sudden change in altitude," the airline said.

A fleet of emergency vehicles was on standby at the Learmonth air base, about 1,100 km northwest of the state capital Perth, when the plane landed, said Sergeant Greg Lambert of the West Australian police.

"Some 36 people were injured in the incident, about 12 of them seriously," he said.

Australian Transport Safety Bureau spokesman Ian Sangston said 15 people sustained serious injuries, including broken bones and cuts.

"While cruising in level flight, the aircraft experienced a sudden in-flight upset, resulting in injuries to a number of cabin crew and passengers, primarily in the rear of the aircraft," the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said in a statement.

Neither the Australian Transport Safety Bureau nor Qantas could not immediately confirm the number of injured or whether it was turbulence or another factor that had caused the aircraft, which was carrying 303 passengers and 10 crew, to drop or rise suddenly during flight. —AFP