Mother’s terror at 30,000ft as BA plane ‘freefalls’ in violent turbulence

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A woman with two children has shared her fear when the airplane she was on experienced extreme turbulence, which she considered the most severe in years, while at an altitude of 30,000 feet.

Jade Crosland, a 31-year-old passenger, expressed that she unexpectedly fell from the sky while flying with British Airways from Singapore towards Heathrow.

Ms Crosland was on a flight with her family to visit her mother-in-law for her 60th birthday. Unfortunately, the flight encountered turbulence during the early hours of Friday morning.

According to her interview with The Independent, there was a cold air pocket that caused the airplane turbulence. This incident cannot be seen on radar, despite the ability to detect changes in temperature and turbulence. Usually, pilots can anticipate turbulence, but the particular air bubble that caused the problem couldn't be detected. Thus, they flew directly into it.

I suppose the plane was experiencing regular turbulence, but suddenly we struck two pockets of cold air that caused the aircraft to plummet uncontrollably.

As she went to secure her daughter in the seat, the woman, residing in Australia at the age of 31, experienced a sudden drop in the aircraft.

She recounted that everyone was in a state of complete panic and overwhelmed with terror. Usually, whenever there's turbulence or some sort of commotion, people look to the cabin crew for help and comfort, but in this case, even the cabin crew were in a state of distress themselves.

According to Ms Crosland, the cabin was chaotic as food trays were flung around and a member of the plane's staff was rendered unconscious after being struck in the head by a trolley.

The flight BA12 experienced turbulence prior to its arrival.

According to reports, another member of the flight staff is going through an MRI scan to inspect serious bruising on her hip, and a third employee is currently in the hospital after having an operation on their ankle and thigh bone.

Ms Crosland expressed that she had believed that they were going to lose their lives.

The person who is 31 years old stated that the shaking of the aircraft went on for approximately 20 minutes. However, the duration of the turbulence appeared to be forever for her as she was concerned that the plane might crash into the sea.

When the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft was flying over the Bay of Bengal, it encountered turbulence. Ms. Crosland shared that she spoke to a cabin crew member during this frightening time who informed her that he had only witnessed this type of turbulence twice in his career spanning 25 years. This was a unique and new experience for him.

At approximately 3am on Friday, the flight had no choice but to divert its course back to Singapore, and a thorough inspection was carried out on the aircraft to assess any potential harm to its structure.

The travelers were provided with lodging arrangements and had their flights rescheduled for a later time.

The path taken by the redirected airplane

Ms Crosland expressed her appreciation towards the crew onboard for their quick reaction during the turbulence. She also mentioned that her two kids were able to stay in a deep slumber through the situation.

As someone who travels often by airplane, she shared that she decided to board the very next flight to the United Kingdom, even though the previous journey had been quite frightening.

According to a representative from British Airways, the wellbeing of their crew is the number one concern, especially after a recent occurrence of unusually strong turbulence during one of their flights.

Our experienced team on the flight provided comfort to the passengers, and the plane landed in Singapore as a safety measure.

We expressed regret to our customers regarding the tardiness of their flight and offered them lodging as well as guidance on their entitlements as consumers.

We are rescheduling our clients to the soonest possible flights with us as well as with other air carriers.