At least 12 passengers on board a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Ireland were injured due to turbulence, Reuters reported citing Dublin Airport.
As per the report, the Qatar Airways flight QR017, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, landed shortly before 1 p.m. Dublin time (1200 GMT).
“Upon landing, the aircraft was met by emergency services, including Airport Police and our Fire and Rescue department, due to 6 passengers and 6 crew [12 total] on board reporting injuries after the aircraft experienced turbulence while airborne over Turkey,” Dublin Airport was quoted as saying in a statement.
The incident comes five days after a Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore was forced to land in Bangkok after severe turbulence resulted in the aircraft plunge by 6,000 feet in just five minutes. A 73-year-old British man was killed and 20 others were in intensive care after sustaining injuries.
According to an AP report, at least 22 passengers on the flight had spinal cord injuries while six others including a two-year-old suffered brain and skull injuries.
On Saturday, a Bangkok hospital said that 43 people who were on board the Singapore Airlines flight remain hospitalised.
“There is reason for the public to be concerned but I think the concern is elevated because of the real focus that some news stations have given,” said John Goglia, an aviation safety expert, told Bloomberg.
Turbulence-related airline accidents are the most common type, according to a 2021 study by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.
From 2009 through 2018, the US agency found that turbulence accounted for more than a third of reported airline accidents and most resulted in one or more serious injuries, but no aircraft damage.