Dublin: Qatar Airways has confirmed that a flight from Doha to Dublin encountered severe turbulence yesterday, plummeting to 275 feet at a speed of 21,888 feet per minute. The incident left 12 passengers injured, though none of the injuries were fatal.
The Boeing Dreamliner B787-9, which took off from Doha at 8:06 am, landed safely and on time at Dublin Airport at 1:00 pm. Emergency services were on standby, and the injured were promptly transferred to the hospital for further evaluation. Six of the injured were passengers, and the other six were airline employees.
The turbulence occurred over Turkey about two hours before the scheduled landing. Passengers described the harrowing experience, with some stating it felt like the plane was “falling out of the sky” for 15 to 20 seconds. Items were scattered throughout the cabin, and some passengers required oxygen.
Dublin Airport officials confirmed that airport operations were unaffected by the incident. Qatar Airways has launched an internal investigation and attributed the turbulence to bad weather conditions over Turkey.
This incident follows a recent accident involving a Singapore Airlines flight, where severe turbulence resulted in one fatality and over 100 injuries. The aviation community is now closely examining turbulence-related safety protocols.