On Thursday, Nov. 15, Scandinavian Airlines flight SK957 encountered turbulence over Greenland during its trip from Stockholm to Miami, an airline spokesperson shared in a statement to PEOPLE.
In the footage, originally posted toX (formerly Twitter), passengers could be heard screaming as those who seemingly didn’t have their seat belts fastened were lifted out of their seats, some hitting the ceiling of the plane cabin as debris flew through the air.
According to the airline, 254 passengers were on board the plane and “no severe injuries were reported among passengers or crew.”
Sammy Solstad via CNN Newsource
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Passenger Sammy Solstad toldCNNthat he felt lucky to be alive after experience the turbulence , and that “everyone on the plane was praying and asking to just land instead of flying over the open sea.”
The flight crew made the call to return to Europe after the incident, eventually landing in Copenhagen, as their safety protocols “require a thorough inspection of the aircraft” and “necessary facilities and staff” were unavailable in Miami.
A woman sitting next to Solstad, who he said was not wearing a seatbelt at the time, “flew up to the ceiling” before she “fell” — a moment that was also captured in the video footage.
When the plane arrived in Copenhagen, a “special assistance team” was on site to help customers, who were given hotel accommodations and rebooked on other flights, per SAS.
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Incidents of severe turbulence are not rare. AUnited Airlinesflight from Cancun to Chicago experienced a similarly terrifying scenario in August.
The airline confirmed to PEOPLE at the time that United Flight 1196 landed in Memphis after encountering “a brief period of severe turbulence” while the seatbelt sign was on. One passenger was transported to the hospital at the gate.
Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila were aboard a plane that reportedly dropped 4,000 feetin a moment of “severe turbulence” in March 2023.
The Brazilian model and entrepreneur shared video footage showing thedamage inside the planeafter it made an emergency landing at Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
“On Flight last night, plane dropped almost 4000 feet, 7 people went to the hospital, Everything was flying everywhere,” Camila wrote in the caption. “To respect the privacy of those around me that’s all I am showing but the plane was a CHAOS. And the turbulence keep on coming.”
“The@lufthansaflight you are seeing on the news today!!!! Yes … that one,” the mother of three continued. “Thank God everyone was safe and ok.”
source: people.com