This Monday, July 1, 2024, a Boeing 787-9 had to make an emergency landing in Brazil. The incident left several people injured, Air Europa said.
An Air Europa passenger plane, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, en route from Madrid to Montevideo was forced to make an emergency landing in Natal, Brazil, on Monday after several “strong turbulence” which left several injured, the airline announced.
Several dozen injured
The Spanish company reported on the social network X that the device had “landed normally” in Natal (north-east) and that “the injured were taken care of”. We count “between 25 and 30 injured”a Uruguayan diplomatic source told AFP, specifying that this assessment remained provisional and that some had already left the hospital where they had been transported.
Our flight UX045 to Montevideo has been diverted to Natal Airport (Brazil) due to severe turbulence. The plane has landed safely and the injured people are already being treated.
— Air Europa (@AirEuropa) https://twitter.com/AirEuropa/status/1807730946201792888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
“Most suffered minor injuries and a priori the lives of none of them are in danger”the source said. The Uruguayan Foreign Ministry explained that “Passengers who needed medical attention were transferred to Monsenhor Walfredo Gurgel Hospital in Natal”.
The plane landed at 02:42 local time (05:42 GMT), Zurich Airport Brasil, the company that manages Natal’s international airport, said in a statement sent to AFP. Brazilian authorities did not immediately respond to AFP’s requests for information.
In May, a 73-year-old British man died and several other passengers and crew were seriously injured during severe turbulence during a Singapore Airlines flight aboard a Boeing 777. Scientists say climate change is causing more turbulence in flights.
According to a 2023 study, the annual duration of turbulence increased by 17% between 1979 and 2020, and severe turbulence, which is rarer, by more than 50%.
