Two members of cabin crew were injured on an easyJet flight from Corfu to London as the plane was hit by strong turbulence. Pilots on the flight to Gatwick from the Greek island were forced to divert the plane and land at Rome with some 181 people onboard.
The crew members who were injured were about to serve food onboard the flight when chaos broke out, reports the MailOnline.
They were reportedly hurled against the sides of the plane, leading pilots to decide to land early so the flight attendants could receive medical attention.
One passenger on board said: ‘I honestly thought we were going to die and have never experienced anything like it in my life.”
The passenger Sharleigh told MailOnline: “The pilot said we may experience ‘’mild turbulence’’ .. next thing the plane started ferociously shaking and suddenly just dropped. Everyone was screaming – my friend woke up from her sleep and we just held each other as we thought we were going to die”.
Another passenger Marlene described how she went into the brace position comparing the experience to “being in free-fall on a rollercoaster”. The aircraft was battered by turbulence just 20 minutes after taking off, while it was cruising at around 485mph, at an altitude of 28,000ft.
The plane appeared to change course as it reached the south of Italy heading across the mainland before it landed in Rome, data from Flightradar24 shows.
Southern Italy has been hit by huge storms and the turbulence took place hours after the Bayesian superyacht capsized when it was hit by a tornado while moored off the coast of Sicily.
Six people onboard the yacht remained missing on Wednesday morning and at least one person has died following the incident.
An easyJet spokeswoman told the Standard: “Flight EZY8120 from Corfu to London Gatwick on 19 August experienced turbulence which unfortunately resulted in two cabin crew members being injured.
“As a result the Captain took the decision to divert to Rome where the crew members were met by medical services.
The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and our pilots are trained to manage incidences of turbulence.
“The flight landed normally in Rome where customers were supported in the terminal and a replacement crew and aircraft were arranged to continue the flight to London Gatwick.”