Air India passengers hospitalised after sudden 300-foot drop in turbulence over India
An Air India flight from Phuket to Delhi jolted passengers and crew Monday when severe turbulence sent the aircraft dropping about 300 feet mid-air. At
An Air India flight from Phuket to Delhi jolted passengers and crew Monday when severe turbulence sent the aircraft dropping about 300 feet mid-air. At least 17 people were hospitalised after the scare, and some passengers described a scene of panic as bodies were thrown from seats and luggage spilled from overhead bins.
Sudden drop, fast response
The Airbus A320, operating as AI 2379 and carrying 145 people, encountered the turbulence while flying near Odisha before pilots steadied the jet and continued on to Delhi. The plane landed safely at 11:07 a.m. and suffered only minor damage, according to the airline. Short and terrifying. Cabin crew were also thrown off their feet.
Air India said medical teams met the aircraft on arrival at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and examined all 137 passengers, including three infants, and eight crew members on board. Those with injuries were first taken to a medical centre at the airport before 17 flyers and crew were shifted to Medanta, India Spinal Injury Centre and Fortis Hospital in Vasant Kunj. By evening, five passengers had been discharged.
‘We thought we would die’
Passengers said the turbulence hit without warning. One Italian traveller, Viviana, told agencies she was left shaking and crying after watching her sister lifted from her seat and her mother struck on the head. Her phone flew away. She also said her hearing had been affected after the incident.
Another passenger described people being hurled upward when the aircraft suddenly lost altitude. Some of those not wearing seatbelts hit the cabin roof, while overhead baggage bins broke loose and parts of the interior were damaged. Footage from the airport later showed injured passengers being moved on stretchers and into ambulances.
Why it matters
Severe turbulence remains one of the most unsettling hazards in commercial flying because it can strike quickly, with little warning, even on routine long-haul or holiday routes. Aviation safety experts have long urged passengers to keep seatbelts fastened whenever seated. This flight’s rapid drop and the number of injuries showed how fast an ordinary journey can turn chaotic.
For the passengers headed home from Phuket, Monday’s trip ended in hospitals and shock. As Viviana put it: “We thought we would die. I was shaking and crying. It was horrible.”