Passengers on an Air India Airbus A320 recently experienced severe turbulence. This routine flight encountered severe weather en route. Thankfully, there were no fatalities and Air India has not reported major injuries. However, the cabin was sprayed with food from the inflight service and sustained some damage.

Air India A320 encounters severe turbulence

AI 467 took off for Delhi en route to Vijayawada when the aircraft encountered a patch of turbulence. Based on the images, the aircraft experienced severe turbulence that damaged part of the cabin, threw around the inflight service, and led to some injuries.

The Times of India reports that the incident occurred on September 17, 2019. It appears that there were severe thunderstorms on the aircraft's flight path. Thus, when the aircraft encountered this rough weather, the turbulence was severe enough to cause this damage.

The aircraft is a four-year-old A320 with registration VT-EXA. Data from flightradar24 shows that the aircraft is back in service, which appears to indicate that the damage was repaired quickly and not substantial enough to render the aircraft unworthy for air operation.

A320
The aircraft re-entered service for Air India. Photo: Venkat Mangudi via Wikimedia Commons

How bad is turbulence?

Many passengers have experienced turbulence at some point on a flight. In most cases, the turbulence is not severe enough to cause substantial damage. However, if turbulence is associated with severe weather, then the results could be far worse.

Turbulence has affected many flights and even led to a broken leg for a flight attendant. And, similar to this Air India incident, an Emirates A380 was trashed after encountering a bout of severe turbulence.

With climate change, unfortunately, it seems that turbulence could get much worse. And, currently, there is not widespread technology to help pilots track upcoming turbulence. Smaller aircraft also tend to experience greater effects from turbulence than larger aircraft. However, some airlines like Delta are working on ways to reduce the number of flights that experience turbulence.

Air India A319
Smaller aircraft, like A320-family variants, experience greater effects from turbulence than other aircraft. Photo: Aero Icarus via Wikimedia

Should passengers panic when their aircraft encounters turbulence?

In short, no. Out of millions of flights, turbulence does not usually cause such chaotic effects in the cabin. Keeping your seatbelt fastened while seated can help prevent injuries in the case of unexpected turbulence. And, if the seatbelt sign is off, then you should keep your seatbelt fastened and follow crewmember instructions. This simple initiative can make a difference in cases of severe turbulence.

Seatbelt sign
Keep your seatbelt fastened whenever the seatbelt sign is on and even if the sign is off, it is a good idea to keep your seatbelt fastened! Photo: Jay Singh - Simple Flying

Were you a passenger onboard AI467? What was the experience like? Let us know in the comments!