The Canadian Press
CALGARY—Passengers are describing a Toronto-bound Air Canada flight that was diverted to Calgary yesterday as a terrifying roller-coaster ride.
Emergency officials said 21 people, including three children, were taken to hospitals with injuries ranging from minor sprains to serious chest and neck trauma.
However, no one suffered life-threatening injuries.
Passengers on Flight 088 said with only about two hours left in the flight from Shanghai, the pilot came on the intercom and warned they were entering an area of turbulence.
But no one was prepared for the jolt which sent the Boeing 777 into sudden descent.
“It was the flight from hell,” said passenger Connie Gelber.
“The girl beside me was thrown right out of her seat down the aisle. Everyone was injured.
“We thought we were dying,” she added. “Even the steward never in any of their years had seen anything like it.”
Gelber said it appeared the most seriously injured had ignored the pilot’s warning and had not buckled up.
“They did not have their seatbelts on, and that’s a lesson to be learned to all of you,” she stressed.
“Put your seatbelts on, even when it’s sunshine.”
Some passengers described waves of turbulence but others said it wasn’t all that bad.
“It was a little scary,” said Gord Murray of Toronto. “[But] all the crew were very professional, handled themselves really well.
“Everyone stayed calm,” he added. “A few people had a couple of minor injuries and were a little bit shaken up, but we made it back safe and sound.
“It could have been much worse.”
Murray said a handful of passengers with medical training checked people after the turbulence ended—going first to those who were feeling ill.
“They were wonderful,” he said.
“It was very, very quick, the one burst, and then after that everyone remained calm,” he noted.
Esther Du said it was a frightening experience.
“The first time was just a little shake, and then suddenly we go up quickly and we just fall down,” she recounted.
“Luckily, I had my seatbelt fastened but the boy beside me didn’t.”
She said he flew up and hit the bulkhead above him.
Emergency Medical Services spokesman Stuart Brideaux said the injured were transported to four Calgary-area hospitals and all were in stable condition.
