Air Canada flight lands in Calgary after strong turbulence

Air Canada says one of its jets has landed at Calgary International Airport with injured passengers on board.

Bing Feng, a passenger, described hearing “lots of screaming” as the plane became “like a rollercoaster”. Although the passengers had been warned there may be some turbulence, many did not have their seatbelts on when the heavy turbulence hit. A doctor on board also helped injured passengers.

Fire and other emergency crews were on hand when the plane landed and at least three passengers were seen being loaded into ambulances. After landing at Calgary, 21 passengers were transferred to local hospitals comprising eight with non-life threatening injuries and 13 for observation, the airline said.

Air Canada posted an official statement on their website last night saying they were focusing on the passengers who were injured. A member of the Air Canada special assistance team was at the hospital to assist passengers and their families.

The plane had to turn around about two-and-a-half hours into the flight due to an “incident involving a disruptive passenger”.

“We assessed a total of 25 that had been aboard the aircraft that were identified as potential patients”. The investigators will request the aircraft’s black box and will interview Air Canada employees. “There were no injuries to any of the passengers or crew”.

“It’s too early to say what caused this amount of turbulence”. But although people can get hurt if they aren’t strapped in, turbulence doesn’t crash airplanes. “A total miracle that there were 350 people and if 20 injured that means 330 weren’t and no crew injured and with all those flying objects that in itself is a total miracle”. The best way for passengers to protect themselves is to pay attention to the seatbelt light and stay seated and belted in while the light is on.