Severe turbulence occurred on a Korean Air flight on Sunday, injuring 14 people and sending food flying throughout the aircraft's aisles, the Korea JoongAng Ilbo reported.
Korean Air Flight 197, carrying 281 passengers, was heading to the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar, about an hour after taking off from Incheon airport in South Korea when it encountered severe turbulence. according to To the Korea JoongAng Ilbo.
The media said the plane was flying at an altitude of 34,100 feet near China's Tianjin airport when the turbulence began.
Four flight attendants and 10 passengers complained of neck and back pain but were not seriously injured, the Korea JoongAng Ilbo reported, citing Korean Air.
The turbulence lasted for about 15 seconds, reportedly sending food trays flying into the aisle and passengers falling from their seats. (Related: Second major turbulence in five days leaves eight hospitalized)
Meal service was suspended and passengers were instructed to fasten their seatbelts and remain in their seats, the report said.
A Korean Air Airbus A330-300 aircraft carrying 281 passengers from Seoul to Ulaanbaatar encountered severe turbulence at FL341 near Tianjin, China, causing several passengers to crash into the ceiling and floor of the cabin. Ten passengers and four cabin attendants were injured.#leak #Safa #mmrv pic.twitter.com/0JQJDpExZN
— Aviation_Mechanic👷♂️🌏✈️ (@Kwesi_Andrews1) August 6, 2024
“Passengers who were not wearing seat belts were launched into the air,” travel blogger Kim Hae-in wrote, according to the outlet. “One passenger was launched so high that he hit his head on the ceiling and fell into the aisle.”
“Just as we were finishing our meal, turbulence started and the plane went into a nosedive,” a former Twitter user, X, apparently wrote in a post translated into English. “People were screaming, all the plates were flipped over, it was chaos.”
Mongolia trip days 5 and 6
ㅎ I want to know more What do you mean? What do you mean? Good evening pic.twitter.com/KtHNKefMYv— 티슷/커미션 메인트윗 (@pinkteest) August 4, 2024
Passengers were reportedly given anti-inflammatory and painkillers during the flight, and the patients were examined by a waiting medical team in Ulaanbaatar after the flight landed, the media reported.
In August 2024, the airline stopped serving instant noodles to economy class passengers on long-haul flights to prevent them from getting burned by “increasing trends in turbulence.” according to In the New York Post.
