Passenger, crew injured in ‘full on turbulence’ on Air NZ flight from Wellington to Queenstown
A female passenger was scalded when a pot of coffee fell on her and a flight attendant hit the plane’s ceiling during the flight from Wellington to Queenstown.
A passenger and crew member have been injured after an Air New Zealand plane hit severe turbulence on a domestic flight on Sunday.
Flight NZ607 was en route from Wellington to Queenstown when turbulence hit, as the cabin crew were serving coffee and tea to passengers.
A passenger on board told local media that a female passenger had a “full pot of coffee” poured over, while a member of the cabin flight attendant “went up and hit the ceiling.”
“I personally have never had such sudden, full on turbulence on my travels,” the passenger told Crux news. “The jolting and dropping, tilting slightly sideways felt like those parts where you go on a rollercoaster and start dropping down then boost back up.
“It was sudden and caught all by surprise”.
The incident comes after a series of turbulence mishaps have seen passengers and flight crew injured. Earlier in June, a passenger died and 80 people were injured when severe turbulence hit Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 over Myanmar as it flew from London to Singapore.
In May, 12 passengers and crew suffered minor injuries after a Qatar Airlines flight from Doha, Qatar, to Dublin experienced severe turbulence.
And Qantas is being investigated over a turbulence episode on a flight from Sydney to Brisbane on May 4, in which a flight attendant suffered a broken ankle.
The passenger said the female passenger received burns and was treated by a paramedic on the plane before being taken to hospital after the flight landed at Queenstown. “Ambulances were waiting on arrival. She had some blistering,” the passenger said.
They added that the flight attendant said the turbulence was “the worst she had experienced of turbulence in her career and she’s travelled all over the world.
“It wasn’t super long but intense.”
Air New Zealand’s Chief Operational Integrity and Safety Officer Captain David Morgan confirmed the injuries on board happened during turbulence.
“A customer and crew member were injured during turbulence on NZ607 from Wellington to Queenstown on Sunday,” Mr Morgan said in a statement.
“Our operating procedures outline our onboard response to different levels of turbulence, including detailing when passengers and crew are required to take their seats during the flight. From time to time, clear-air turbulence can occur where rough air is not visible to the flight crew. “We’re always reviewing our operating procedures in line with both regulation and international best practice to ensure the safety of our customers and crew is prioritised.”
Two ambulances met the plane on its arrival in Queenstown.
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