Three passengers sustained minor injuries after an Air India flight ferrying 236 passengers and six crew members from Amritsar to New Delhi encountered severe turbulence shortly after take off on Thursday.
Panic gripped the passengers on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner when an inside panel outlining a window fell-off and some overhead oxygen masks got released above their heads due to low pressure.
Arguably one of the most advanced long-haul aircraft of its time, the plane was cruising at 15,000 feet when it flew into heavy turbulence that lasted for about 15 minutes.
A video uploaded by news agency ANI shows a flight attendant trying to push the window panel back into place while placating the elderly passenger on whom the panel reportedly fell.
#WATCH Air India flight from Amritsar to Delhi experienced severe turbulence and three passengers sustained minor injuries. A window panel also fell off. DGCA begins probe (19.4.18) pic.twitter.com/WBp0v56oTy — ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2018
According to reports, one of the injured passengers was not wearing his seat belt and as a result hit his head against the luggage compartment when the plane was rocked by strong winds.
The injured were, however, rushed to a nearby hospital as soon as the plane safely landed at the Delhi airport.
Meanwhile, the aircraft in question has been grounded and a probe has been launched into what is being described as a "freak kind of severe turbulence".
Air India has been recently in the news over Narendra Modi–led government's decision to sell a majority stake in the cash-strapped national carrier.
Once the only airline in India, the state-owned carrier today has lost a significant portion of its market share to new and private entrants and is currently reeling under a massive debt (approximately $5 billion) but interestingly, also boasts of the highest number of long haul planes in the country.
