Excessive turbulence Thursday over Greenland pressured a Scandinavian Airways flight from Stockholm to Miami to show round and return to Europe.
Dramatic video from Scandinavian Airways Flight 957 confirmed the extreme turbulence that left a few of the 254 passengers screaming and the cabin suffering from particles.
There have been no experiences of any critical accidents on the flight.
The pilots selected to make a U-turn and fly about 5 hours again to Copenhagen, the place the aircraft was inspected for injury.
In an announcement supplied to CBS Information, the airline mentioned it has “the perfect services and workers for this degree of inspection” at Copenhagen Airport, and it “due to this fact determined to reroute the plane right here, the place each hangar house and certified technicians had been out there.”
It added that flying the aircraft to Miami “would have resulted in it being grounded for an prolonged interval, resulting in a number of cancellations.”
Former Nationwide Transportation Security Board chair Robert Sumwalt questioned why the pilots did not select a better airport.
“If the structural integrity of the airplane was in query, they need to have landed on the nearest appropriate airport,” Sumwalt mentioned. “The query might be, did they return to Copenhagen out of comfort, or did they do it as a result of they thought that was the most secure path?”
Researchers consider local weather change could also be a think about extreme turbulence turning into extra frequent. A 2023 research revealed within the journal of Geophysical Analysis Letters discovered a 55% enhance in turbulence over the North Atlantic since 1979.
“Throughout this time of yr, usually, there will be some stronger turbulence,” mentioned Laura Einsetler, an airline captain who flies by that space. “We all the time attempt to keep away from these sort of areas.”
The Federal Aviation Administration says accidents because of turbulence are uncommon. Sumwalt says sporting a seatbelt is vital.
“There’s some know-how on the market that may actually preserve individuals from getting damage,” Sumwalt mentioned. “And that know-how is named a seatbelt.”
