turbulence

The Christian Science Monitor takes a look at turbulence, noting it may be more common than passengers would expect. The publication writes that "for pilots who routinely fly several times a day, turbulence is a common occurrence. Severe turbulence, the kind that can cause injuries, is less common, but it's not as rare as one might think."

The FAA says turbulence is the "leading cause of injuries to airline passengers and flight attendants" in nonfatal accidents, the Monitor reports. The publication adds about 60 passengers a year get hurt from incidents relating to turbulence. "The primary reason: They're not wearing their seat belts," the Monitor writes.

UPDATE (12:50 p.m. ET on Monday Aug. 3): Bloomberg News updates the number of passengers injured on Continental Flight 128, saying "as many as" 37 injuries are now being blamed on the turbulence that forced the Brazil-to-Texas flight to make an emergency landing in Miami. Bloomberg writes: "Nine passengers were taken to the hospital after the Boeing 767-200 arrived at 5:35 a.m. local time, Dave Messing, a spokesman for the Houston-based carrier, said today in an e-mailed statement. About 28 more people were treated at the scene, he said." Initial reports had said about 26 passengers were injured in the incident.

UPDATE (11:33 a.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 3): The Associated Press notes Rio de Janeiro also was "the departure airport for Air France Flight 447 that crashed in the mid-Atlantic, more than 900 miles off Brazil's northeastern coast, in thunderstorms on June 1, killing all 228 people on board." Despite that, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen tells AP it's too early to draw any parallels between the two. "I wouldn't draw any conclusions and comparisons," Bergen says, noting the cause of the Continental incident is being investigated.

Bloomberg News also notes points out that the ill-fated Air France flight originated from Brazil. Bloomberg adds "turbulence accounted for 22% of all U.S. airline accidents from 1996 to 2005 and was responsible for 49% of the serious-injury accidents, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report in March."

UPDATE (11:20 a.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 3): The latest version of the AP story says "the plane reported hitting severe turbulence at 4:30 a.m. and landed safely at 5:30 a.m, at Miami International Airport (FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen) said. ... The airline released a statement that said the fasten seat belt sign was illuminated at the time and that about 28 passengers were treated in Miami. ... Passenger Fabio Ottolini of Houston said it was about 6 hours into the flight when he felt the aircraft suddenly drop."

" 'People didn't have time to do anything,' he said. Ottolini said flight attendents 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." The BBC says "airline catering lorries with hydraulic lifts were reportedly used by rescue crews to get those hurt off the plane as quickly as possible."

"I have never seen anything like that in my life," Flight 128 passenger Richard Sharp said in an interview with FOX's Megyn Kelly, according to the network's website. "It was severe...like nothing that i have ever experienced ," added Sharp, who told that network he flies often. He described the turbulence as rocking "up and down and in a vertical motion." He said it lasted about 10 seconds, but threw people about the cabin and into the ceiling and overhead bins."They were pretty severely injured. The ones that were transported were mostly head injuries and fractures", Sharp told Fox.

The Miami Herald has more first-hand accounts from passengers on the flight while the Houston Chronicle covers the reaction from Houston, which is also the home to Continental's headquarters.

ORIGINAL POST: Severe turbulence injured 26 passengers and forced Continental Airlines Flight 128 to make an emergency landing this morning, The Associated Press reports. There were 168 passengers on the Rio de Janeiro-to-Houston flight, which landed in Miami at 6 a.m. ET, according to CNN. The network says "ambulances and other vehicles were lined up on the runway to treat and transport the injured passengers when the plane landed at Miami International Airport at about 6 a.m. ET." CBS 4 of Miami reports four passengers were sent to the hospital in serious condition while "another 22 with bumps and bruises are in stable condition." CNN says the Boeing 767 operating Flight 128 hit turbulence at 38,000 feet about 50 miles north of the Dominican Republic, according to an official with the Federal Aviation Administration.