jondc9
19th Nov 2006, 23:57
TOKYO (CP) - Four flight attendants were injured when an Air Canada flight encountered severe turbulence and was forced to make an emergency landing at Tokyo's Narita Airport on Sunday.
Four of the 11 cabin attendants, all Canadian nationals, were injured when the plane, a Boeing 767, hit a patch of turbulence about an hour after departing Shanghai, China, for Vancouver, airport police official Masatoshi Uchiumi said.
Uchiumi said their injuries were mostly scratches and bruises, and not life-threatening. He did not have details on exactly how they were injured.
None of the flight's passengers were hurt, he added.
Angela Mah, a Vancouver-based spokeswoman for the airline, confirmed in a telephone interview that Air Canada Flight 38 had just taken off from Shanghai when it ran into severe turbulence.
According to Uchiumi there were 186 passengers on board, but Mah said there were 190.
The four injured flight attendants were sent to hospital to be looked over, Mah said.
"Three of the four flight attendants have been released from hospital and we expect that the fourth will be released in the hours to come," she said.
The Air Canada mishap occurred only hours after a Japanese domestic flight heading for Tokyo also ran into severe turbulence, injuring a cabin attendant and a passenger before landing safely at Haneda Airport as scheduled.
The JAL Flight 1348, carrying 373 passengers and 11 crew from Kobe, 435 kilometres west of Tokyo, unexpectedly hit a turbulence just as it reached cruising altitude near Itami City, about 30 minutes into the flight, airline spokesman Kenji Okuyama said.
One passenger smashed against the over storage compartment and cut his forehead when he tried to stand up just as the plane, a Boeing 777, hit turbulence and lost altitude, Okuyama said.
The flight had been smooth and the seatbelt signs were turned off until the sudden bout of turbulence, he said.
Mah said turbulence severe enough to cause injuries is rare and she couldn't recall any other recent occurrence involving an Air Canada plane.
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KUDOS to the crew for taking precautions to land early and get proper medical help.
Four of the 11 cabin attendants, all Canadian nationals, were injured when the plane, a Boeing 767, hit a patch of turbulence about an hour after departing Shanghai, China, for Vancouver, airport police official Masatoshi Uchiumi said.
Uchiumi said their injuries were mostly scratches and bruises, and not life-threatening. He did not have details on exactly how they were injured.
None of the flight's passengers were hurt, he added.
Angela Mah, a Vancouver-based spokeswoman for the airline, confirmed in a telephone interview that Air Canada Flight 38 had just taken off from Shanghai when it ran into severe turbulence.
According to Uchiumi there were 186 passengers on board, but Mah said there were 190.
The four injured flight attendants were sent to hospital to be looked over, Mah said.
"Three of the four flight attendants have been released from hospital and we expect that the fourth will be released in the hours to come," she said.
The Air Canada mishap occurred only hours after a Japanese domestic flight heading for Tokyo also ran into severe turbulence, injuring a cabin attendant and a passenger before landing safely at Haneda Airport as scheduled.
The JAL Flight 1348, carrying 373 passengers and 11 crew from Kobe, 435 kilometres west of Tokyo, unexpectedly hit a turbulence just as it reached cruising altitude near Itami City, about 30 minutes into the flight, airline spokesman Kenji Okuyama said.
One passenger smashed against the over storage compartment and cut his forehead when he tried to stand up just as the plane, a Boeing 777, hit turbulence and lost altitude, Okuyama said.
The flight had been smooth and the seatbelt signs were turned off until the sudden bout of turbulence, he said.
Mah said turbulence severe enough to cause injuries is rare and she couldn't recall any other recent occurrence involving an Air Canada plane.
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KUDOS to the crew for taking precautions to land early and get proper medical help.