Iberia IB-6641 CAT over Amazonas?

[dicks-airbus]

15 injured when Ibera A340-600 (IB-6641) encounted heavy turbulence over Amazonas. Multiple pax had heavy panic attacks.

[divinehover]

I'm reluctent to report CAT when flying the -600. Other aircraft might think I'm crying wolf.

[ChristiaanJ]

There is CAT, and then there IS 'heavy turbulence'.
Source, and circumstances, please?

[ray cosmic]

to be totally correct it would be "severe turbulence" not heavy. ..and back in my corner..

[jetpet]

Was the " heavy or servere " turbulence encountered sudden?...changing level perhaps would have helped.

[justme69]

It was briefly reported yesterday, but it seems the media blew it a little bit out of proportion in Peru (so what's new).

The airplane landed normally in Jorge Chávez airport in Lima when, 45 minutes before estimated arrival, just as they were initiating landing maneuvers, encountered turbulences that caused some minor injuries to 15 people (including 3 crew, out of the 356 PAX plus 16 crew onboard the A-340/600 IB-6641). Most of them weren't wearing seat belts. (Other sources say 335 PAX and 14 crew).

They were given priority landing and medical personnel was waiting for them to be checked out. It seems that some miscommunication made the emergency personnel think that this was an emergency landing. The crew had simply requested medical assistance for the injured passengers and priority to land so they could be quickly assisted.

They were all discharged at the airport soon afterwards except an italian woman that seemed to have suffered a fracture in a finger (or toe, it's the same word in Spanish, and another source says what she had was a twisted left ankle) and was taken to a hospital.

The landing itself, in spite of heavy winds, was otherwise normal.

The official version by Iberia is that a "medium turbulence" made several catering trays and hand luggage fly around the cabin, hitting some passengers and causing some contusions to PAX and crew.

It seems that some undetermined alarm went off in the aircraft at that time (i.e. windshear), while they were flying over the city of Pucallpa in the amazon region of Ucayali.

The three injured Iberia crew members were later sent to a private clinic to receive medical evaluation and attention.

The version in the Peru press is a bit different, if you rather choose to believe it. They speak of the same thing in general terms (windy, heavy turbulence encountered at beginning of landing), but they claim that 25 people were injured and at least 10 hospitalized in different hospitals and clinics around the area. They speak of broken arms, legs, skull fractures and face injuries of passenger and crew members that were "walking around" in the cabin w/o seat belts.

Yet another Peru news agency, reports it as 8 people sent to hospitals with fractures or contusions (one of them, a baby, not apparently injured but only as a precaution) after 23 received medical attention at the airport. The sources say that all of those sent to hospitals were the ones not wearing seatbelts at the moment it first happened and that the injuries weren't severe.

The period of turbulence lasted some 5 minutes, during which the passengers describe the usual "trays and people (w/o seat belts) flying around the cabin followed by several minutes of "earthquake". A 7 yo child is reported as to have hit the ceiling. Needless to say the PAX was scared sh**less for a while.

Some press in Peru informs:

"Chief for civil security from regional goverment of Callao, general David Llamos Rodriguez, informed that "there was no emergency in the landing, the worst moments happened on the air where, as consecuence of abrupt movement, nearly 15 passengers out of 350 that were traveling in the aircraft were injured"

Acording to coronel Bahamonde, chief of the airport division, "in a few hours the situation was under control and the injured had received the needed medical care to return to normal life after the accident between the capitals of Spain and Peru."