Ten people including six cabin crew and four passengers were injured when a Cathay Pacific Airbus A350-900 from Brisbane to Hong Kong was struck by severe turbulence.
Eight of the injured, including two Australians, were taken to hospital after Flight CX156 landed safely at Hong Kong International Airport at 6:45 a.m. on May 23 (local time), the airline confirmed."Six cabin crew and four passengers reported minor injuries, and eight of them were sent to hospital for further medical care," a Cathay Pacific spokesman told the South China Morning Post. The remaining two were treated at the airport.One passenger told the newspaper the plunge lasted about two seconds and felt like "free-falling from a drop tower," with people screaming and items flying through the air as the aircraft dropped roughly two hours before its scheduled landing. Images circulating on social media showed galley carts toppled in the aisle, food and drinks strewn across the cabin floor, and coffee splashed on the ceiling. One photograph showed an injured flight attendant being wheeled to an ambulance in a cervical collar.
A Cathay Pacific Airways Airbus A350-900 airplane approaches to land at Changi International Airport in Singapore, June 10, 2018. Photo by Reuters
