British Airways crew suffer serious injuries and passengers scream in terror at 30,000 feet

Five British Airways crew suffered serious injuries and passengers screamed in terror after a plane flying at 30,000 feet was hit by the worst turbulence the airline had seen in ‘years’.

The crew, on board the BA12 flight from Singapore to Heathrow, London, were hurt after the plane was struck by ‘severe’ and ‘sustained’ turbulence over the Bay of Bengal.

One of the in-flight team suffered a dislocated ankle and another is now undergoing an MRI to check severe bruising on her hip.

And a different crew member was still in hospital yesterday following surgery on their ankle and femur.

The flight was forced to turn back to Singapore at around 3am on Friday where the plane was checked for structural damage.

The Boeing 777-300ER had passed over the Andaman Sea and was flying over the Bay of Bengal when it was hit by turbulence.

The airline had not experienced anything like it in ‘the last five years’ and the severity was ‘obscene’, according to the Sun.

The source told the paper: ‘From no-where, the plane was shaking as it suddenly dropped five feet and rose again in uncomfortable jerked motions. 

‘There were screams from the passengers and great upset spread through the cabins.

‘The ‘fasten seat belt’ signs were on but the heroic crew were carrying out essential duties when they were thrown around the cabin.

‘Five crew were hurt, with three flyers suffering serious injuries. The captain had no option but to try and turn the plane around, and abort the scheduled service to Heathrow.’

The Boeing 777-300ER had passed over the Andaman Sea and was flying over the Bay of Bengal when it was hit by turbulence

Stunned passengers were given hotel accommodation and were re-booked onto later flights.

A British Airways spokesman told The Sun: ‘Safety is always our priority and we’re looking after our crew after one of our flights experienced a rare episode of severe turbulence.

‘Our highly trained team on board reassured customers and the aircraft returned to Singapore as a precaution.

‘We’ve apologised to customers for the delay to their flight and provided them with hotel accommodation and information on their consumer rights.

‘We’re re-booking customers onto the next available flights with us and other airlines.’

Severe turbulence increased 55 per cent between 1979 and 2020 and is expected to get more intense, more frequent and last longer in future.