NEW YORK—Severe turbulence tossed terrified passengers and crew around a Turkish Airlines plane cabin as it passed over Maine on March 9, with 30 people suffering bumps, bruises, cuts and a broken leg before the flight landed safely at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, officials said.
Dozens of ambulances lined up in front of a terminal to quickly treat the injured coming off the flight that left Istanbul for the 10-hour trip.
Spokesman Steve Coleman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told The Associated Press that 28 people were taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens after the plane touched down at 5:35 p.m. Two went to Queens Hospital Medical Center. A flight attendant suffered a broken leg, Coleman said.
At least 30 injured after severe turbulence on JFK approach for Turkish Airlines passengers. That’s some crazy shakes, hope everyone is okay. @TurkishAirlines @flightradar24 pic.twitter.com/EFHh29kUIN
— Rudy J Villalona (@rudyvillalona) March 10, 2019
Turkish Airlines Flight 1 hit the turbulence about 45 minutes before landing at JFK, Coleman said. The crew declared an emergency while the Boeing 777 was still in the air, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
“Nobody announced it or anything like that so we figured out something was wrong,” passenger Sead Nikaj told ABC News. “Then I see people start flying on the plane. Then seeing blood all over. I had one of the ladies next to me, she really fell down from her seat on the floor and all her back was completely bloody, while someone that was working in the airplane, she cracked her leg I think completely.”
Passenger Amir Mehrbakhsh said he saw one man frantically screaming. “I think he was like doing a religious chant. I kept hearing him say ‘Jesus,’ like he was visibly distraught.”
“There was like one or two seconds when it was subtle, but then it really started to pick up,” Mehrbakhsh said. “… Just because the drop was so sudden, a lot of people got lifted up and hit their head either on the ceiling or on the side of the plane, and so there were a lot of injuries pretty quickly.”
The Port Authority spokesman said other airport operations were not affected.
Turkish Airlines officials in a statement early Sunday confirmed the flight carrying 326 passengers and 18 crew members “encountered an unusual turbulence about 40 minutes before landing” in New York. The airline said it is “deeply saddened by this unfortunate experience, and closely monitors the health status of injured passengers, and is making resources available to them.”
WATCH: passengers with bloodied faces; blood smeared on overhead cabin. 29 injured from severe turbulence on Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul landing at JFK Airport tonight; gashes on heads to a broken leg. 10 people taken to hospital. Video courtesy Sead Nikaj pic.twitter.com/6SbhkGuqkp
— CeFaan Kim (@CeFaanKim) March 10, 2019
It was the second mishap on Saturday involving a plane in the New York metropolitan area.
Earlier in the day, Newark Liberty International Airport temporarily closed its runways after a flight from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale made an emergency landing with smoke in its cargo hold.
The National Weather Service had issued advisories on Saturday warning pilots of expected turbulence.
Severe turbulence injures at least 32 passengers on flight from Istanbul to JFK https://t.co/SMZv1VKjNE
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) March 10, 2019
FDNY: up to 32 patients being treated at JFK. FAA: Turkish Airlines Flight 1, Boeing 777, landed safely at 5:35 p.m. after declaring aemergency and reporting that several passengers were injured when the aircraft encountered turbulence. @NY1 pic.twitter.com/q9QedSMQQc
— Van Tieu (@Van_Tieu) March 10, 2019