A Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight from Spain to Uruguay was diverted after encountering severe turbulence. The plane, which was flying from Madrid to Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo, had to divert early Monday morning. In a statement shared with Business Insider, Air Europa said seven people were injured, while an “undetermined number” had minor bruises. However, images shared on social media appeared to show damage to the cabin’s ceiling panels and reports suggest that 36 people were injured.
According to Romina Apai, a passenger on the flight who spoke to Uruguayan TV network Teledoce, she was sitting next to the person who got stuck in an overhead luggage compartment due to the damaged roof. Evangelina Saravia also reported that a man appeared stuck in the damaged roof and a baby hit the roof during the incident. Medical services attended to the Boeing 787 after it landed in Natal, Brazil.
The incident is one of several recent instances involving severe turbulence and injuries on flights. In May, a 73-year-old Singapore Airlines passenger died and dozens more were injured due to turbulence. Days later, 12 people were injured on a Qatar Airways flight. Despite this data from the Federal Aviation Administration shows an average of less than 12 people a year are seriously injured by turbulence between 2009 and 2022, severe injuries due to turbulence are extremely rare.
Air Europa thanked local authorities for their rapid intervention and assistance in responding to this emergency situation and stated that they would send another plane to pick up passengers before continuing their journey as planned.
