Philippine Airlines Flight Gets Hit by Clear Air Turbulence

Fifteen passengers aboard a Philippine Airlines flight inbound from Hawaii to Manila were injured after the aircraft was hit by clear air turbulence last week. According to a statement released by the national carrier, Flight PR101 was three hours into its flight when the aircraft encountered the turbulence.

Copyright Photo: Angelo Agcamaran/PPSG
A medical team was dispatched at Ninoy Aquino International Airport to meet the aircraft, which touched down on September 19, to provide assistance to the passengers that had been injured. The Airbus A340-300 aircraft was travelling with 132 passengers on board. Airport officials and PAL customer relations officers were also on-hand at the airport to assist passengers.

The aircraft departed Honolulu, Hawaii at 12:06pm and arrived in Manila at 4:20pm. A flight attendant was among the passengers aboard the aircraft that suffered minor injuries. The flight crew were in constant communication with Philippine Airlines following the incident, who instructed the pilots to proceed to Manila.

The majority of the passengers on-board the aircraft were primarily elderly and were caught off guard as the aircraft made a sudden drop over a ten second period. Most of the passengers that were affected suffered injuries to the head, back, and even some trauma. Many that were injured had fallen asleep during the flight without fastening their seat belts.

According to Rico Gonzalez, Manager of NAIA Terminal 2, of the passengers that were listed as injured, two were transported to a nearby hospital for further medical examination due to neck injuries.

References: Manila Bulletin

17 comments:

  1. Typical Filipinos. Never listens to instructions. Acting all mayabang is what they are.

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  2. That's why it is very challenging to fly aircrafts that are not considered as "jumbos" over the mighty Pacific Ocean! Even the past PAL 747s were even facing treacherous turbulences over the Pacific (I've flown PAL from LAX to Manila in 2003 and man, the aircraft nearly succumbed to those high shearing and rolling winds). So lessons learned: avoid flying little aircrafts like A330 or B767 over the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans.

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    1. A Lockheed Tristar aircraft of Gulf Air flight from Hongkong to Bahrain plunged for about 15 seconds over the Indian Ocean (circa 1984) and luckily every passenger like me was wearing seatbelts. Thanks to the efficient British pilot and flight engineers plus the flight crews who did their "life-saving jobs". What an experience I could not forget!

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    2. Anonymous, it does not matter what type of aircraft you fly. Clear air turbulence is a force of nature that cannot be predicted even if the pilot is top notch and well experience in flying. Passengers on the other hand should adhere to safety regulations to keep seatbelts fastened at all times - prime example is this incident.

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    4. Anonymous Edgardo Lemque, that is why there are options for you to obviate forces of nature like clear air turbulence! No one is debating you about it; just telling you that you have options to choose like A380s and B747s over the Pacific Ocean! OMG, que conducta!.....

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    5. Yes, there are airlines that have options for you to choose different types of planes. But in SFO, the plane primarily in use for flights to Asia is the Boeing 777 and some 747s, 787s and A340s, we're not like LAX where we have multiple A380s flying to Asia. We actually have no A380s that fly to Asia. And in reality, any plane is build to withstand turbulence. Did you know, some pilots prefer flying through clouds than in clear conditions?

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    6. Because Los Angeles has more people, more tourists, businessmen and the A380s appear profitable for airlines like: Korean Air, Asiana, China Southern, and of course, Singapore Airlines, the most popular of them all!

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Walis tingting na lang Edgardo, he he he he he he he he

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  4. Even if the air craft is B747 or A380. :)

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  5. Okay, walis tingting na lang - sinabi mo eh. He he he...

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  6. Okay, walis tingting na lang - sinabi mo eh. He he he...

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    1. Edgardo Lemque, isang Aloha Airlines 737 airplane ang naaksidente sa Dagat Pacifico dahil sa turbulence. Alam mo, nahulog ang 1/4 front side ng eroplano at sinipsip ng hangin iyong mga walang seatbelt. R I P..............

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  7. Edgardo Lemque, I flew a WestJet Airlines 737 from Dublin Ireland to Toronto, Canada and because the aircraft is small compared with the A330-300 of Aer Lingus, I nearly gambled my life and ruined my mindset because of the crazy, unpredictable turbulence over the Atlantic Ocean. So do not try 737 flying Honolulu to Manila if there will be one airline to fly in the future.. This will refute your statement that any aircraft can fly anywhere, etc.............LOL.

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  8. The sense of responsibility must be immense when you're in control of a flying machine. AV8 Prep Flight school

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