At least 12 passengers on board a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Ireland were injured due to turbulence, Reuters reported citing Dublin Airport.
As per the report, the Qatar Airways flight QR017, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, landed shortly before 1 p.m. Dublin time (1200 GMT).
“Upon landing, the aircraft was met by emergency services, including Airport Police and our Fire and Rescue department, due to 6 passengers and 6 crew [12 total] on board reporting injuries after the aircraft experienced turbulence while airborne over Turkey,” Dublin Airport was quoted as saying in a statement.
The incident comes five days after a Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore was forced to land in Bangkok after severe turbulence resulted in the aircraft plunge by 6,000 feet in just five minutes. A 73-year-old British man was killed and 20 others were in intensive care after sustaining injuries.
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According to an AP report, at least 22 passengers on the flight had spinal cord injuries while six others including a two-year-old suffered brain and skull injuries.
On Saturday, a Bangkok hospital said that 43 people who were on board the Singapore Airlines flight remain hospitalised.
“There is reason for the public to be concerned but I think the concern is elevated because of the real focus that some news stations have given,” said John Goglia, an aviation safety expert, told Bloomberg.
Turbulence-related airline accidents are the most common type, according to a 2021 study by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.
From 2009 through 2018, the US agency found that turbulence accounted for more than a third of reported airline accidents and most resulted in one or more serious injuries, but no aircraft damage.