An Air Europa passenger found themselves trapped in an overhead bin during a harrowing flight from Madrid to Montevideo, Uruguay, as severe turbulence forced the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to make an emergency diversion early Monday morning.
Air Europa reported that seven individuals sustained injuries, with an unspecified number suffering minor bruises, in a statement shared with Business Insider. The New York Times, however, cited higher figures, reporting that 36 people were injured during the incident.
Images circulated on social media depicted damage to the cabin’s ceiling panels, underscoring the intensity of the turbulence. One video clip captured passengers assisting a fellow traveler down from an overhead luggage compartment.
Romina Apai, a passenger onboard, recounted to Uruguayan TV network Teledoce her experience sitting beside the individual who became trapped in the compartment. “He flew and got stuck in the roof, in the bin. We couldn’t find him,” she explained.
Evangelina Saravia, another passenger, described the scene where the trapped man was located between the damaged plastic and metal roof sections. “A person was suspended between the plastic roof and the metal roof that is behind it, and had to be lowered,” she reported.
Upon landing in Natal, Brazil, medical services promptly attended to those injured onboard the flight. Air Europa stated that the Boeing 787 would undergo a thorough inspection to assess the extent of the damage, and arrangements were made to dispatch another aircraft to retrieve the passengers.
“The company expresses its gratitude to the local authorities for their swift intervention and assistance,” Air Europa stated in their release.
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This incident adds to a series of recent turbulence-related incidents. In May, turbulence on a Singapore Airlines flight resulted in the death of a 73-year-old passenger and multiple injuries. Shortly after, a Qatar Airways flight experienced turbulence that injured 12 individuals.
While turbulence incidents are relatively infrequent, severe injuries remain rare. According to data from the Federal Aviation Administration spanning from 2009 to 2022, fewer than 12 individuals per year, on average, sustain serious injuries due to turbulence.
