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| Situation Update No. 1 Ref.no.: VIV-20100220-25004-USA
Situation Update No. 1
On 2010-02-20 at 16:21:50 [UTC]
Event: Vehicle Incident
Location: Japan Over the Alaska En Route Washington D.C. to Tokyo Number of Injured: 20 person(s)
Situation: More than 20 people have been hurt by turbulence on a flight from Washington DC to Tokyo. Although there were no serious injuries, at least one passenger may have fractured a leg, and others have complained of pain and bruising. Police at Tokyo's Narita International airport said the United Airlines flight hit turbulence over Alaska but the Boeing 747 eventually managed to land on schedule. United Airlines spokesman Mike Trevino said that about halfway into the 13-hour flight, the pilot advised passengers to put on their seat belts. A short time later, the plane "experienced moderate turbulence." He declined to discuss any injuries but says United is cooperating with health officials. In 1997, one person died of her injuries after a United Airlines flight from Narita to Honolulu in Hawaii encountered turbulence. The crew on that flight had been warned of air problems ahead and switched the seat belt sign on - but the aircraft dropped around 30 metres and as well as the death, several other passengers were seriously injured. The plane returned to Tokyo where it landed safely. Turbulence is caused by sudden changes in air movement that can make the plane buffet upwards and downwards. Experts say crashes caused by turbulence happen only once in a decade. |  | | | |
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