Emirates' turbulence incident injures 23, highlights need to wear seat belts at all times

An Emirates airline Boeing 777-21H registration A6-EML performing flight EK530 from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (DXB) to Kochi, India (COK) with 350 passengers and 14 crew, was en-route at FL350 (35,000ft) and just about to begin descent towards Kochi, when the airplane experienced severe turbulence for a brief period of time.

Image copyright Bangalore Aviation. All rights reserved.

As per a statement released by the airline,

the plane experienced an extreme vertical descent of about 200ft

which resulted in 20 passengers and 3 crew members being injured. The plane continued on to Kochi and made a safe landing. The injured were taken to local hospital and treated.

The aircraft was grounded for a day while India's DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), which is required by Indian law to investigate any flight incident involving injuries, examined the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) to determine if the aircraft exceed vertical acceleration limits for any of the numerous weld-joints on the airframe. The aircraft returned to Dubai the next day with its full complement of crew on-board.

A replacement aircraft was flown in to transport passengers.

Confusion on location
Image courtesy Google Earth
There is confusion on the exact location of the incident.

While the airline statement claims

The aircraft encountered a weather cloud near Bengaluru over the Chennai-Mumbai FIR (Flight Information Region)

As per sources in ATC the aircraft was nowhere near Bangalore. The normal track of the flight would be on airway P570R to waypoint POMAN (N11 56.1, E072 00.0) about 175nm (308 km) west of Mangalore, within the Mangalore CTA, then track ESE 115 degrees on W92 to Kochi. Based on timing of the incident i.e. the aircraft was on top of descent, it appears the incident has occurred near POMAN enroute to Kochi.

Need for safety and sobriety

As usual the mainstream media including luminaries like TimesNow TV, and Yahoo! led the panic with scaremongering stories. Wild claims that the aircraft fell from 20,000ft to 1,500ft left all in the aviation industry and aviation focussed media just shaking our heads.

Unfortunately, these mainstream media have so much clout with a public clamouring for sensationalist stories, that even airline officials run scared and refuse to divulge vital information to the more knowledgeable media which will explain the whole truth. For example, despite many requests Emirates airlines refuses to divulge the exact latitude and longitude of the incident.

This incident underscores Bangalore Aviation's campaign to remind readers and passengers worldwide to always always always wear seat belts when seated on-board a flight. In this incident almost all the injured were not wearing their seatbelts. Please wear your seat belt, even if loosely around your waist. When sleeping, wear your blanket first, and then fasten your seat belt on the outside of your blanket. If nothing else the cabin crew will not wake you up just to instruct you to wear your safety belt. If it is tight, or you are a large person, ask for an extension. It is not embarrassing, and safety is paramount.

Read more »

Always keep your seat belt fastened when seated

"Ladies and gentlemen, from the flight deck, ....... we advise you to always keep your seat belt fastened when seated, even when the 'fasten seat beat' sign is switched off"

How many times have we heard this advice during our flights ?

How frequently do we follow this advice ? The road warriors, and frequent fliers will probably say they do, but most of us do not.

Just as most of the 285 passengers of a Northwest Airlines Airbus A330-300, flight NW022 from Tokyo Narita, Japan to Honolulu, Hawaii, USA on January 22, 2009. The aircraft experienced severe turbulence for about 20 seconds while en-route near the Midway Islands.

One flight attendant received serious injuries, three passengers minor injuries. The flight attendant suffered serious head and neck injuries and was delivered to a hospital in Honolulu after the flight crew elected to continue and land safely. Two passengers with injuries, one to the hip, the other with neck and arm injuries, were also delivered to a Honolulu hospital, a third passenger was treated at the airport.

In the din of geese and a water landing, most of us missed this incident, one that occurs with far more frequency than bird strikes, and unlike bird strikes, this is something, we passengers can protect ourselves against.

One of the worst incidences of Clear Air Turbulence occurred on December 28, 1997. A Boeing 747-100 performing United Airlines flight UA826, and flying the same route as NW022, from Tokyo, Narita to Honolulu. Two hours into the flight, at 31,000 feet, the plane received reports of severe clear-air turbulence in the area and the seat belt sign was turned on, but before passengers could fully react, the aircraft suddenly dropped around 100 feet, seriously injuring many passengers and causing damage to the aircraft. The plane turned around and landed safely back in Tokyo, but was not put back in service. One passenger died of her injuries after landing in Tokyo. (Read NTSB press release of the incident).

Do you fasten your seat belt for the duration of the flight ? Share your thoughts via a comment.

Read more »