The strong shake, which occurred when the plane entered the American continent, threw several people against the ceiling and caused the stewardesses to “fly down the aisle”
Twelve travelers have been injured during a flight between Madrid and Buenos Aires as a result of “severe turbulence” that occurred when the aircraft entered the American continent. The accident, recorded on Wednesday, caused a strong shake of the device, the fall of hand luggage and the “displacement of passengers”, some of whom collided with the walls and ceiling of the cabin. Most of them were injured and were treated at the same terminal, although two people had to be transferred to a hospital in the Argentine capital. One of them is a 73-year-old Spanish citizen who suffered a head injury and a deep cut to the head, and the second is a 63-year-old woman who had minor injuries to her extremities.
Flight AR1133, belonging to Aerolineas Argentinas, had taken off from Madrid-Barajas airport bound for Eceiza, where it landed at 4:30 am (about half past nine in Spain). On board were 271 passengers and 13 crew members. The company reported that the aircraft was flying over the ocean “entering the American continent” when it encountered the turbulence. This phenomenon occurs when two masses of air come into contact at different speeds or temperatures. Although the meteorological radar that the planes equip usually warn of their presence, sometimes, if their wingspan is very large, it is impossible to avoid them.
The shake “caused an unusual movement inside the cabin”, which was turned into temporary chaos. Some compartments were opened, carry-on bags fell on the passengers and dozens of oxygen masks were unhooked from their supports. Other users were literally removed from their seats. One of them, the Spanish streamer Esperanza Borrás, reported on her Twitter account that her head “hit the ceiling and broke it.” The young woman was injured in her face and, possibly, “her septum (of her nose) is broken.” Screams and scenes of terror followed one another among the passengers, although the aircraft regained stability in a few moments. The Airbus, with registration LV-FVH, did not show structural damage during its subsequent inspection on the ground, according to reports on Thursday by ‘La Nación’.
“A nightmare”
The airline has stated that “the passengers who were most compromised did not have their seat belts on at the time of the turbulence”, despite the fact that the signs indicating their use were on and the cabin staff had announced the obligation to wear them fastened due to adverse weather.
However, his version has been denied by several affected. Borrás herself has pointed out that he had put on his seatbelt during the seven hours preceding the flight and “just when I took it off, it happened, but there was no notice indicating it.” Another traveler reported on a social network that those “last seven hours were a nightmare” due to the frequent shaking of the plane. But when the »severe turbulence« happened nobody »told us to put on the seatbelt and everyone went flying; even the stewardesses down the aisle«. Some images posted on the network show the broken signaling panels, since, according to one person affected, »the passengers themselves were the ones who broke the plastic with their heads«.
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