Qantas Airbus Turbulence Injuries

Qantas passengers were thrown around the cabin of a Qantas Airbus during severe turbulence in a flight from Hong Kong to Perth on Monday. Twelve people were treated for minor injuries after the airbus lifted and dropped 250 metres due to ‘convective turbulence’. Qantas spokesman David Epstein said QF68, an A330-300 with 206 passengers and 13 crewmembers, was four hours out of Hong Kong when it hit turbulence over Borneo around 2.30am [WST]. ‘The aircraft most likely encountered what is known as convective turbulence, which led to it rapidly gaining around 800 feet in altitude before returning to its cruising altitude of 38,000 feet’. The injured received first-aid treatment on board, paramedics were waiting to treat them when the plane landed in Perth around 8am [WST) Monday. Seven people were taken to Royal Perth Hospital [RPH], five, including three children were treated at Swan Districts Hospital. Spokesperson for both hospitals said all 12 people were treated for injuries including bruising, neck and back pain and were discharged mid-afternoon. Qantas said the aircraft's difficulties were not linked to any recent problems it had with its A330 fleet or the Air France A330-200 that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on 31 May 2009. Epstein said Qantas remained confident in the A330 aircraft and would work closely with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau [ATSB] to determine what might be learned from this incident. Epstein said there were no problems with the aircraft and only minor damage sustained. Passengers said there were signs of panic when people that were not strapped in were thrown around the cabin. Qantas staff told passengers the plane dropped about 100 feet. The incident was similar to one during a flight from Singapore to Perth on 7 October 2008, when almost 50 of the 313 on board a Qantas A330-330 were injured when the plane plunged 2000 metres. Epstein said although media reports suggested the aircraft was travelling through thunderstorms at the time of Monday's incident and that there was no evidence of this. The ATSB said two investigators inspected the plane and flight recorder data was downloaded as part of the inquiry. A preliminary report into the incident is expected within 30 days.