Turbulens - 21 til sykehus - Canada - Curt Lewis

A 'flight from hell': Passengers sent to hospital after turbulence diverts Air Canada flight

Connie Gelber watched as a woman sitting in front of her was violently thrown out of her seat and tossed into the aisle, hours into what was scheduled to be a 14-hour flight from Shanghai to Toronto. 
A terrified Gelber heard cries and saw phones, purses and anything that wasn't anchored down hit the ceiling when rough turbulence shook the Boeing 777 and injured nearly two dozen passengers as the plane flew over Alaska. 
"It was the flight from hell," Gelber said. "It was frightening. Honestly, we didn't know if we were going to live or die."
Gelber was one of 332 passengers on the flight bound for Toronto that made an emergency landing in Calgary around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday due to extreme turbulence.
When authorities got word the plane was diverted to Calgary, a mass casualty protocol was enacted. Paramedics from outside of Calgary were enlisted at the same time that fire trucks, police cruisers and 15 ambulances rushed to the airport to greet the plane. 
Paramedics pushed at least 10 stretchers carrying injured patients wrapped in blankets through the busy departure level of the airport to ambulances that lined the second-level concourse late Wednesday afternoon.
EMS spokesman Stuart Brideaux said emergency responders assessed 25 passengers from the aircraft and ambulances transported 21 people - including three children - to hospitals across the city with a variety of injuries. 
"Approximately seven of the patients, all adults, did sustain possible neck and back injuries, but at this time (all injuries) are believed to be non life-threatening," he said, noting none of the injured were crew members. 
On Wednesday evening, Air Canada said some of the hurt passengers had already been released from hospital. 
An injured passengers with their head covered is transported by Calgary EMS crews after the Shanghai to 
The passengers who weren't taken to hospital were eventually booked onto other flights. 
Rui Jhao, who suffered minor injuries, caught an 8 p.m. flight to Toronto. He waited in line to check in with large red scrapes above and below his left eye - a visual record of what he experienced during the memorable flight from China. 
"I hit the wall and got damaged," Jhao said.
Speaking at South Health Campus, where his 11-year-old daughter Grace was being treated, Chang Wang said the girl received bruises to her head and was suffering back pain after she was thrown into the next row of seats during the journey. 
"There was terrible turbulence ... some vibration and then suddenly a huge drop," Wang said. "Things were flying through the air everywhere."
While there was an on-board announcement of heavy weather prior to the incident and a reminder to buckle up, Wang said he understands that his daughter, who was seated with others elsewhere in the cabin, was sleeping and did not hear the warning.
The girl was among several patients being assessed and treated at South Health Campus for their injuries Wednesday evening. A member of the Air Canada special assistance team was at the hospital to assist passengers and their families.
Several passengers praised the 19 crew members' professionalism throughout the incident. They warned passengers in advance, said Toronto resident Gord Murray.
"The pilot said, 'this is going to be a very turbulent area,' " he noted. 
Murray said that when the rough turbulence was over, medical professionals who were on the flight jumped in to help the injured passengers. 
"We're all happy to be back on the ground safe and sound," he said after departing the plane in Calgary. 
In a statement released Wednesday evening, the executive vice-president and chief operating officer at Air Canada acknowledged the experience was "very unsettling" for many aboard the aircraft.
"Safety is always our first priority and so any incident involving the safety of our passengers and crew is of utmost concern," said Klaus Goersch.

Several passengers recalled hearing cries and watching people who weren't wearing seatbelts get thrust out of their seats when the plane began to shake. 
"Some guys just flew," said Liu Pinzhou. "It was crazy."
Yi Re, one of the first passengers to exit the plane, said passengers didn't know if the aircraft would survive the turbulence. 
(The plane was) moving sideways, up and down ... very violently," he said. 
Like many on the flight, passenger Linea He said the experience was something she never wants to repeat. 
"I was scared, really scared," she said.

"It was like suddenly the plane was going down."

Patients are transported to hospital from the Calgary International Airport in Calgary on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015.
"They will see if they can gather enough evidence to understand what happened," said Julie Leroux, spokeswoman with the investigative agency.