A Turkish Airlines flight attendant suffered a broken spine when the plane she was on encountered turbulence, local media reported.
The crew was working on a short 50-minute domestic flight from Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul, to Izmir in the country’s west.
Turkey’s largest newspaper Hurriyet reported that the Airbus A321 plane suddenly dropped into the air in response to turbulence, shortly after the pilot warned passengers to fasten their seatbelts.
Harriet added that the woman, who had only been on the job for two months, was thrown towards the ceiling before falling to the floor of the aircraft.
She was immediately taken to hospital in Izmir after landing, where medical staff confirmed she had a fractured spine.
The accident marks the third widely publicized incident this week in which passengers have been injured due to turbulence.
Twelve people were injured when a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Dublin experienced turbulence over the weekend. Dublin Airport told Business Insider that the turbulence occurred while the flight was over Turkey.
After landing, the plane was met by airport police and emergency services, and eight people were taken to hospital.
It is unclear whether the turbulence encountered by the Qatar Air flight was the same as that which affected the Turkish Airlines plane.
The weekend incident followed one of the worst cases of turbulence-related injuries in recent years.
Last Tuesday, a Singapore Airlines plane fell hundreds of feet before stabilising in the air, killing one passenger and injuring more than 100.
Images from the diverted flight showed debris strewn throughout the cabin and blood on the ceiling. Jeff Kitchen, 73, who had a heart condition, died on the flight.
Dozens of passengers on Singapore Airlines Flight SQ321 were injured after their oxygen masks were removed due to severe turbulence. REUTERS/Stringer
According to the Associated Press, several passengers suffered injuries including paralysis, skull and back trauma and brain injuries.
Thirty-four passengers from the flight remain in hospital, the airline said in a statement on Monday.
The three dramatic turbulence incidents do not appear to be related, despite occurring close together. Turbulence-related serious injuries remain rare, with about a dozen people seriously injured each year in the United States due to turbulence, according to the FAA.
Turbulence, a sudden change in air currents, is common at high altitudes but is thought to be exacerbated by climate change.
In a 2023 study, researchers at the University of Reading in the UK found that in 1979, there were about 17.7 hours of severe turbulence at an average point over the Atlantic Ocean. By 2020, this number had jumped to 27.4 hours, a 55% increase.
Some turbulence is easy to spot because it’s associated with storms or thick clouds, but rising temperatures are increasing the number of “clear-air turbulence” that happens suddenly and is harder to avoid.
Currently the only way it can be detected is if another squadron hits it first and warns the other squadrons.
According to the Financial Times, 15 airlines are working on solutions to better monitor clear-air turbulence.
Pilot Emma Henderson told BI last week that while the Singapore Airlines flight was an extreme case, it was still a good idea to always wear your seatbelt to protect yourself from turbulence, even if there are no signs saying so.
Turkish Airlines did not immediately respond to BI’s request for comment.
