Man Stuck in Overhead Bin After Boeing Jet Hits Severe Turbulence
Airline passengers headed to Uruguay had a scary incident with dozens injured when a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner operated by Air Europa hit severe turbulence on a flight en route to Montevideo from Madrid, Spain on Monday. And in the ensuing chaos, one passenger actually became lodged above an overhead bin.
Flight UX045 was forced to make an emergency landing at Natal Airport in northeastern Brazil just after 2:30 a.m. According to the health secretariat of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, around 30 passengers were taken to local hospitals in Natal with minor abrasions or orthopedic traumas.
"Our flight bound for Montevideo was diverted to Natal due to strong turbulence," Air Europa said in a statement, via Newsweek. "The plane landed normally, and those injured are already being treated."
In shocking photos and video posted to social media by one passenger, Mariela Jodal, the interior cabin could be seen in complete disarray, with ceiling panels torn off and oxygen masks suspended above seats. Outside the cabin window, a team of ambulances were visible waiting to transport injured passengers.
"AirEuropa flight UX 045 Madrid-Montevideo, with several injured due to very strong turbulence," Jodal captioned one post on X. In a follow-up post, she blasted the airline for leaving them "stranded."
"Air Europa absent! After the crash of flight UX 045, the crew left, leaving us stranded at the Natal airport," she wrote. "They do not give us information on how we will return to Montevideo."
Vuelo de AirEuropa UX 045 Madrid-Montevideo, con varios heridos por turbulencia muy fuerte.
— Mariela Jodal (@MarielaJodal) July 1, 2024
Aterrizamos en Natal pic.twitter.com/jHFzb6mV1g
In a shocking video taken in the immediate aftermath of the turbulence, the passenger can be seen stuck above the overhead bin—likely in a section of the plane's ceiling—with his feet sticking out. TMZ reports that fellow passengers helped dislodge the man and return him to his seat.
Vuelo UX045 pic.twitter.com/MibBFuYTgi
— Mariela Jodal (@MarielaJodal) July 1, 2024
"Those who did not have a seatbelt flew and some remained hooked to the ceiling. It lasted about 3.5 seconds," one passenger from Uruguay told the local newspaper El Observador. "A long time after that, there was very slight turbulence, barely felt, and suddenly, the plane abruptly falls and we all rise."
This latest is the latest in a series of severe turbulence issues on commercial flights. One man was killed and dozens more injured when a Singapore Airlines flight from London experienced a sudden mid-air drop due to extreme turbulence back in May.
Unfortunately, research has shown that due to the effects of climate change, incidents of severe turbulence will likely only become more common in the future.