An Etihad flight was forced to return to Perth after encountering severe turbulence shortly after take-off.
Flight EY487, which left Western Australia at 5.15pm on Thursday heading towards Abu Dhabi, only managed to climb to 8534 metres before turbulence rattled the plane.
The pilot requested a lower altitude, which was agreed on, but the turbulence became worse off the coast of Geraldton.
Flight EY487, which left Western Australia at 5.15pm on Thursday heading towards Abu Dhabi, only managed to climb to 8534 metres before turbulence rattled the plane
It was at this time that the crew agreed to turn the plane back to Perth – a move The West Australian reported would have to mean the turbulence was particularly bad.
The plane safely landed at Perth airport by 6.42pm and even though it can carry up to 231, no passengers were declared injured after the mid-air scare.
Etihad confirmed the news shortly after, adding that all affected passengers would be assisted with ‘hotel accommodation and alternative travel arrangements.’
‘Etihad Airways flight EY487, operating from Perth to Abu Dhabi today, September 7, 2017, has returned to Perth Airport having experienced severe turbulence an hour into its journey.
‘Etihad Airways flight EY487, operating from Perth to Abu Dhabi today, September 7, 2017, has returned to Perth Airport having experienced severe turbulence an hour into its journey’
‘No passengers were hurt during the turbulence event, however as a precaution, the aircraft is being inspected by engineers, the airline said.
‘The safety and wellbeing of crew and passengers is Etihad Airways’ number one priority.’
The flight to Abu Dhabi is expected to be rescheduled on Friday.
One passenger on the flight, Paula Tannous, took to Twitter with the hashtags #thankingmyluckystars and #severeweather to praise the crew for making the albeit short trip a safe one.
The plane safely landed at Perth airport by 6.42pm and even though it can carry up to 231, no passengers were declared injured after the mid-air scare
‘Thanks to the crew and pilots who took us through this and landed us safely,’ she wrote alongside a picture of the plane’s window view.
A study by University of Reading researcher Dr Paul Williams suggests these kind of occurrences could triple in the coming years as a result of climate change.
The results of the study showed the average amount of light turbulence in the atmosphere will increase by 59 per cent with light-to-moderate turbulence rising by 75 per cent, moderate by 94 per cent, moderate-to-severe by 127 per cent and severe by 149 per cent.