Air New Zealand Airbus A320 Hit By Turbulence Leaving Two Injured – Simple Flying

Summary

An incident yesterday on an Air New Zealand A320 flight will bring back the spotlight to inflight turbulence following the recent severe episodes on Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways flights. While this incident was nowhere near as severe as those two, it did result in two people heading for hospital when the plane landed.

When the turbulence struck, the Air New Zealand aircraft was on a domestic flight from New Zealand's capital, Wellington, to the South Island tourist mecca of Queenstown. The incident occurred about 15 minutes into the flight while the crew was doing a cabin service with a passenger scalded by hot coffee and a flight attendant suffering moderate injuries, reportedly from hitting the cabin ceiling.

Photo:Jordan Tan | Shutterstock

Simple Flying contacted Air New Zealand today, and the airline sent us a statement from Chief Operational and Safety Officer Captain David Morgan. He said that a customer and crew member were injured during turbulence on NZ607 from Wellington to Queenstown on Sunday, adding:

"The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is our number one priority, and our crew are trained to respond to these situations. Our operating procedures outline our onboard response to different levels of turbulence, including detailing when passengers and crew are required to take their seats during the flight.

"From time to time, clear-air turbulence can occur where rough air is not visible to the flight crew. We're always reviewing our operating procedures in line with both regulation and international best practice to ensure the safety of our customers and crew is prioritised."

Today, Queenstown news outlet Crux reported that the flight was met in Queenstown by two ambulances, and both patients were transported to Lakes District Hospital in moderate condition. A passenger told Crux that a crew member said the turbulence was more powerful than anything she had ever experienced anywhere in the world, adding:

"The flight attendants were bringing the coffee/tea out and the full coffee pot poured over a lady passenger. She received burns and a paramedic attended to her. Then much later when we arrived in Queenstown the lady got sent to the hospital in an ambulance. One of the cabin crew told us she was standing and went up and hit the ceiling. It wasn't super long but intense."

RNZ reported the scalded passenger, who wished to remain anonymous, said it was about 15 minutes into the flight when the plane jolted, and cabin crew hit the deck during tea service. She suffered burns to her arms, abdomen and back and described her ordeal this way:

"I was able to get a bottle of cold water and start dousing myself and I was able to speak to the hostess who was still lying on the floor and saying, 'Is it alright if I get water everywhere because that's what I will be doing' and she said 'Go for it'. Lucky for me a paramedic was sitting in the row behind and he helped me for the rest of the flight."

On Sunday, Air New Zealand flight NZ607 departed from Wellington International Airport (WLG) at 14:02 and, after a 1:10-hour flight, landed at Queenstown Airport (ZQN) eight minutes early at 15:12. The flight was operated with a 2015 Airbus A320-200, registration ZK-OXH and MSN 06471, which was seemingly unaffected by the mid-air incident as it flew another three sectors for the day.

Coming so soon after the horrific experiences on the Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways flights, this incident will spur more discussion around air safety and movement around the cabin during the flight.

Have you encountered severe turbulence? Let us know in the comments.

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Air New Zealand Airbus A320 Hit By Turbulence Leaving Two Injured - Simple Flying