Fourteen people were injured after an Air India flight encountered severe turbulence and suddenly dropped about 300 feet while travelling from Phuket, Thailand, to Delhi on Tuesday.
The Airbus A320, operating as Flight AI2379, hit intense turbulence about 90 minutes after takeoff, throwing passengers and crew around the cabin before safely landing in Delhi at approximately 11 a.m. local time.
Passengers described scenes of panic during the incident. One traveller said her sister was thrown from her seat, her mother suffered a head injury and another passenger was left bleeding from the face. She said many on board feared the aircraft would crash.
Those injured, including one cabin crew member who reportedly sustained serious injuries, were taken to a medical facility at Delhi airport for treatment. Video from the airport showed at least one injured passenger being transported by ambulance.
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation has launched an investigation into the incident. The aviation regulator confirmed that the pilot reported a severe injury to one member of the cabin crew.
Air India said the aircraft experienced a “brief in-flight turbulence-related event during cruise, resulting in a momentary change in altitude.” The airline added that only a small number of passengers and crew required medical assessment and described the injuries as minor.
The incident comes just over a year after Air India Flight 171 crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 people on the ground.
