A Cathay Pacific flight turned into a mid-air nightmare after severe turbulence sent food, drinks, phones, and passengers flying through the cabin.
Ten people were injured on flight CX156 from Brisbane, Australia, to Hong Kong after the Airbus A350-900 was hit by sudden turbulence on Sunday, May 24.
Cathay Pacific confirmed that four passengers and six crew members were injured. Eight people needed hospital treatment after the plane landed at Hong Kong International Airport at 6:45 a.m. local time.
The airline said medical crews were waiting when the flight arrived and provided the “utmost level of care.” Cathay Pacific described the injuries as minor.
But passengers on board described a terrifying scene.
Photos reportedly taken after the turbulence showed food containers, drinks, meals, and equipment scattered across the aircraft.
One traveler told the South China Morning Post that the sudden drop felt like “falling through a drop tower.”
Businessman Nicholas Stevenson told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the “plane just dropped” and he thought it was “going down.”
“There were phones flying, coffees smashed into the roof, food absolutely everywhere,” Stevenson said. “People were screaming. There was a lot of people really freaking out.”
According to Stevenson, the turbulence hit without warning just as the crew had started serving breakfast.
He said there was no seatbelt sign on at the time.
The plane dropped once, then dropped again about 15 to 20 seconds later.
“The first one caught everyone completely off guard,” Stevenson said. “And then probably 15 or 20 seconds later it happened again.”
He said people who had just managed to get back into their seats or grab onto something were thrown around again.
“Anyone who didn’t have their belts on hit the roof,” he added.
Flight attendants appeared to be hit especially hard because they were standing in the aisle with service carts when the turbulence struck.
Passengers realized just how serious the situation was when the crew asked if any doctors were on board.
Four doctors who happened to be on the flight reportedly helped treat injured passengers and crew members while the plane continued on to Hong Kong.
“There wasn’t really anywhere else to land,” Stevenson said. “They just treated people at the back of the plane while we kept flying.”
Stevenson said the pilot later told passengers the aircraft may have flown into a thunder or lightning cell that was not spotted until the last minute because it was dark.
Airport Authority Hong Kong told the South China Morning Post that it received a report about the flight around 6 a.m. and immediately requested fire and ambulance crews to stand by.
