Passengers on an Emirates flight from Perth Airport (PER) to Dubai International Airport (DXB) experienced severe turbulence leaving 14 people injured.
The incident occurred on December 4, 2023 on flight EK 421, when the A380 aircraft (with registration A6-EEV), approached the Persian Gulf.
Passengers took to X (formerly Twitter) to recount their horrifying ordeal, with one man saying he 鈥済enuinely felt that was the end鈥, when he hit the aircraft ceiling twice.
A fellow passenger on the flight replied to the man精东影业 post, also sharing a photo from his seat and joking that his cracked ceiling was better.
One passenger even took a photo showing strands of her hair in the crack after she hit her head on the ceiling.
鈥淭he pilot announced turbulence and to sit down. Literally a second later, myself and others hit the ceiling. You can see my hair in the crack,鈥 the passenger posted, adding that the crew had been 鈥渟o supportive鈥 during the incident.
An Emirates spokesperson told Australian media that those injured were assessed and assisted on board by airline crew alongside medically trained passengers who volunteered, and additional medical support provided via satellite link.
The flight continued on to Dubai and was able to land safely at 04:45 local time, and was met by emergency medical crew.
This is not the first time an Emirates A380 has encountered this type of turbulence.
In 2019, another A380 flying from Auckland Airport (AKL) to Dubai met turbulence so severe that the 鈥榚xit鈥 sign from the aircraft精东影业 ceiling fell and had been part of the chaotic debris from the incident.
A study conducted by researchers from the University of Reading in England found that flight turbulence is bound to get stronger due to climate change.
According to the study, warmer air from CO2 emissions is increasing windshear in the jet streams, strengthening clear-air turbulence in flight routes over the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and the South Atlantic.
