Passenger stuck in luggage compartment after Boeing Dreamliner hit by new turbulence

Footage of a turbulence incident on board a Boeing 787 Dreamliner has shown a passenger who was not wearing his seatbelt dangling from the overhead luggage rack above his seat.

The incident left 30 people injured and blood stains all over an Air Europa Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The flight was travelling from Spain to Uruguay when it encountered severe turbulence over the Atlantic Ocean. According to passengers, all items that were not fastened were thrown through the air.

This included the passenger whose feet were seen dangling above his head in the video after being thrown into the luggage compartment. Air Europa said in a statement after the turbulence: “The aircraft landed normally and the injuries found, which vary in severity, are already being treated.”

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Passengers on weekend flight UX045 from Spain were warned by the pilot to return to their seats and fasten their seat belts just before they hit turbulence. At first the change in airflow around the Boeing 787-9 was slight, but then the altitude suddenly dropped, reports the Mirror.

One passenger told Spanish media: “The feeling was terrifying. It felt like you were falling and it would never stop. And you were aware that you were falling at an unpredictable speed.”

“And you had the feeling that it was over now, that you had to die. Until we saw on the screen that the plane was starting to climb,” said the lawyer, who was traveling to Europe for 40 days for business and tourism reasons.

Images shared by passengers on the flight show the devastating impact of the extreme and sudden fall. Parts of the cabin were ripped from the ceiling after chaotic scenes ensued and passengers were thrown around inside the plane. Another passenger said: “Those who were not wearing seat belts were swept away and some were left hanging from the ceiling.”

The whole incident was over in a few seconds, but many passengers were seriously injured. Uruguay’s Foreign Minister confirmed that the flight made an emergency landing in Natal after the incident and that the 30 injured passengers were taken to the Monsignor Walfredo Gurgel Hospital in the city.

Additional footage shared by passengers on flight UX045 shows other passengers eventually helping the man who was stuck in the overhead bin, pulling him out by his legs. Others can be seen lying on the floor wearing neck braces.

Aviation experts who examined the plane’s publicly available flight data said a sudden deceleration could be the cause of some of the injuries. Jacob Philip said on X: “It appears that the injuries and damage sustained during turbulence on board Air Europa flight UX045 from Madrid to Uruguay were not due to a sudden loss of altitude.”

“FlightRadar24 data shows a sudden drop in speed of 259 km/h in 27 seconds,” although the data also shows a drop in altitude.”

Jacob continued: “This deceleration can cause unbelted passengers to be thrown forward at very high speeds.”