Turbulence slams jet, injures 26

Continental flight from Brazil to Texas forced to land in Miami

By DEMCORAT-GAZETTE PRESS SERVICES

Posted: August 4, 2009 at 6:45 a.m.

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MIAMI — A Continental Airlines jet carrying 179 people from Brazil to Texas hit severe turbulence over the Atlantic early Monday, injuring at least 26 - including four seriously - and forcing an emergency landing in Miami, officials said.

One passenger said he felt Continental Flight 128 drop without warning while flight attendants were in the aisles. Some were thrown against the roof.

Houston-based Continental said there were 168 people and 11 crew members on the Boeing 767. The airline released a statement that the fasten-seat-belt sign was illuminated at the time and that about 28 passengers were treated in Miami.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue spokesman Elkin Sierra said four people were seriously injured and 22 others had bumps and bruises. A total of 14 people were taken to hospitals.

By midday, two had been released and six others were listed in fair condition.

The plane was on an overnight flight from Rio de Janeiro to Houston. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Kathleen Bergen said the turbulence struck about halfway between Puerto Rico and Grand Turk island, north of the Dominican Republic.

The Boeing 767 left Rio about 9:45 p.m. Sunday and was to land in Houston at 6 a.m. local time. The plane was about an hour from Miami when it hit turbulence.

The plane reported hitting severe turbulence at 4:30 a.m. and landed safely at 5:30 a.m. at Miami International Airport, Bergen said.

Passenger Fabio Ottolini of Houston said it was about six hours into the flight when he felt the aircraft suddenly drop.

"People didn't have time to do anything," he said.

Ottolini said flight attendants were serving items in the aisles when the turbulence hit. He said some flight attendants were thrown against the roof of the cabin and may have been among those injured.

Claudio Maia's family of four was sleeping near the rear of the aircraft when the plane suddenly dropped, tossing passengers out of their seats.

His 7-year-old son, Luis, received a deep gash wound on his chest when he was thrown, Claudio Maia said. The metal edge of a table slashed his skin.

"I was lucky because my mother was holding me," said Mariana Maia, 9. She received minor abrasions to her leg.

Others did not fare so well, witnesses said.

One woman violently crashed into the ceiling, her head getting stuck in the frame above, according to witnesses. One of her eyes remained closed, a side of her face bloodied.

A man who wasn't wearing his seat belt kept himself from flying into the ceiling by tucking his feet beneath the seat of the passenger ahead of him.

Another woman, who stood by airline staff as they did inventory in the rear of the plane,was knocked unconscious when watches, perfume bottles and alcoholic drinks crashed into her.

For about 10 seconds, the plane shook as oxygen masks dropped into place, swinging as passengers clung to their seats.

"It felt like the plane was falling," said Carolina Portella, 18, who travels to Brazil every summer.

Airline staff desperately asked if a doctor was on board, Portella said. One doctor got up from his seat in the first-class section and volunteered. Portella, fluent in Portuguese and English, translated for the doctor as he made his rounds throughout the aircraft.

Rio de Janeiro was also the departure airport for Air France Flight 447, which crashed amid thunderstorms June 1 in the mid-Atlantic more than 900 miles off Brazil's northeastern coast, killing all 228 people on board.

The FAA's Bergen cautioned against drawing any parallels and said the cause and severity of the turbulence in the Continental case was still being investigated. "I wouldn't draw any conclusions and comparisons," Bergen said.

Airport officials say some passengers were going on to Houston on various Continental flights about midday. He did not know when the remaining passengers would be expected to arrive in Houston.

Information for this article was contributed by Tamara Lush of The Associated Press and by Tim Chapman, Jose Pagliery and Jennifer Lebovich of The Miami Herald.

Front Section, Pages 2 on 08/04/2009

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