Coming on the heels of a string of high-profile episodes of severe turbulence this year, worries about aviation safety are at a peak. The most egregious instance was recently reported on a flight leaving from Salt Lake City. That’s because the plane was going to Amsterdam. The flight hit extreme turbulence about 30 minutes before landing and was forced to divert to Minneapolis due to injuries sustained. Sadly, hundreds of other passengers and crew were injured.
The plane inverted violently as it went through its descent. That coincided with a horrible midair collision in January over Washington, D.C., that resulted in 67 deaths. After the crash, which killed 346 people, worries about aviation safety were exacerbated.
The recent turbulence incident involved a flight that encountered extreme gravitational forces, causing passengers to feel up to 1.75 times their body weight. Eyewitness testimony paints a harrowing portrait of what happened that day.
“They hit the ceiling, and then they fell to the ground,” – Leann Clement-Nash
Paramedics treated 24 people in the aftermath of the crash, with 18 individuals needing to be treated in the hospital. Among the eleven injured were two crew members, both of whom were severely injured and five others with minor injuries. Passenger reports suggest that the turbulence was severe enough to toss passengers around the cabin with great force.
In testimony before Congress, retired aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti explained how damaging turbulence can be, noting that it was “one of the most severe.”
“That’s a lot of force. That’s like a muscle man grabbing you by the shoulders and with all of his strength trying to pull you up,” – Jeff Guzzetti
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is expected to begin a GoTeam investigation. They are trying to figure out whether the pilots and crew’s actions were sufficient to avoid those storms that created that turbulence. The NTSB will be looking into the pilot’s decision to disable the seatbelt sign ahead of the incident. Then they will see whether that was the right choice.
The recent string of turbulence-related incidents this year has reopened a dialogue on aviation regulations and safety procedures. As investigations unfold, many in the aviation community are calling for enhanced training for pilots and crew in handling severe weather conditions to prevent future incidents.
