– Air Europa Boeing 787 makes emergency landing in Brazil
After severe turbulence, an Air Europa plane flying from Madrid to Montevideo lands in Natal. The injured are treated.
A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner had to make an emergency landing in Brazil.
AFP/ Jorge Guerrero
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An Air Europa Boeing was forced to make an emergency landing in Natal, Brazil, on Monday after severe turbulence left around 40 people slightly injured, according to local health services.
The plane, a 787-9 Dreamliner carrying 325 passengers, left Madrid on Sunday for Montevideo.
But “due to the extent of the turbulence, for greater safety”, the plane had to be diverted to Natal, in the northeast of Brazil, where it “landed normally” on Monday, Air Europa explained in a statement.
The landing took place at 02:42 local time (07:42 in Switzerland), Zurich Airport Brasil, the company that manages Natal international airport, said in a statement sent to AFP.
According to the Health Secretariat of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte, of which Natal is the capital, 40 passengers were transferred to hospitals, “with scratches or minor trauma.” Eleven remained hospitalized Monday afternoon.
Among the injured were people of Spanish, Argentine, Uruguayan, Israeli, Bolivian and German nationality.
An initial report from Air Europa indicated “seven people were injured of various kinds, as well as a still undetermined number (of passengers) who suffered minor bruises.”
Life-saving belt
The Spanish company said the plane would remain in Natal for an “overhaul to determine the extent of the damage.”
The passengers were transferred to the city of Recife, 290 km south of Natal, “where they were accommodated before leaving soon for Montevideo,” Air Europa said, without giving further details.
One of the passengers, Mariela Jodal, posted a photo on the social network X showing that parts of the cabin ceiling had come loose. Large yellow tubes from the inside of the aircraft were visible. She said she was not injured “thanks to the seat belt.”
Mariela Jodal then criticised the way the passengers were handled, saying the crew had left and the passengers were “left to fend for themselves” at Natal airport.
In May, a 73-year-old British man died and several other passengers and crew were seriously injured in severe turbulence on a Singapore Airlines flight aboard a Boeing 777.
Climate change is causing more turbulence in flights, scientists say. According to a 2023 study, the annual duration of turbulence increased by 17% between 1979 and 2020, and severe turbulence, which is rarer, increased by more than 50%.
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