Qatar Airways has confirmed that one of its planes was rocked by ‘severe turbulence’ during a flight from Doha to Kilimanjaro on Friday after photos emerged on social media showing the cabin of the aircraft in disarray with damage to overhead panels and dropped oxygen masks.
Flight QR1499 departed Doha at around 3 am on Friday morning for what should have been a routine five-hour flight to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
The 14-year-old Airbus A330 aircraft, which has been loaned to Qatar Airways from Oman Air, was overflying Somalia en route to Tanzania when the aircraft encountered severe turbulence. The airline says the seat belt sign was on at the time.
Photos taken from inside the cabin showed where meal trays had been flung into the air, oxygen masks had dropped from the ceiling, and panels had been cracked and smashed from where something or someone had impacted them.
Social media reports claimed that at least one passenger was injured during the turbulence and had to be taken off the aircraft on a stretcher. Qatar Airways has not confirmed whether anyone was injured.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Qatar Airways told us: “Qatar Airways QR1499 on 3 May, which was an Oman Air A330 flying from Doha to Kilimanjaro International Airport, experienced severe turbulence.”
“The seatbelt sign was on at the time the aircraft encountered the turbulence in the Addis Ababa Flight Information Region. The safety and security of our passengers is our top priority.”
The aircraft has been stranded on the ground in Kilimanjaro since Friday morning, presumably while repairs are being carried out to the cabin.
In the aftermath of the incident, social media posts initially claimed the turbulence hit a plane flying to Kenya. In response, Kenyan officials called out the reports as fake, although they did not clarify that there was a turbulence incident which hit a plane that overflew its airspace.
Despite the extensive damage to the cabin, it doesn’t appear as if anyone was too seriously injured in this case. Although the seat belt signs were switched on at the time due to forecast bad weather in the region, this incident should serve as yet another timely reminder for passengers to keep their seatbelts fastened whenever they are seated.
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