30 people treated at JFK after flight hits severe turbulence

For about nine hours, Sead Nikaj’s flight back home to New York from Istanbul was smooth. But as the plane was crossing over Maine on Saturday, it hit a patch of severe turbulence, he said. Nikaj said he watched the woman next to him fly out of her seat. Oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling. People banged their heads, screamed and prayed. For about 10 to 15 minutes — but what felt like an eternity to Nikaj — he thought he was going to die. The Turkish Airlines plane landed safely at Kennedy Airport, but at least 30 people were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries because of the turbulence, the authorities said. One flight attendant broke her leg, said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The rest of the injuries were minor, and included “bumps, bruises and cuts,” Coleman said. But the turbulence left the plane cabin full of bloodied and shaken passengers. Several ambulances rushed to the airport as the plane landed, in a chaotic scene that Nikaj said he keeps replaying. In a statement, the airline said it was “deeply saddened by this unfortunate experience” and that it was closely monitoring the health status of the injured passengers. The flight, number 001 and a Boeing 777 plane, encountered the turbulence about 45 minutes before it landed at 5:35 p.m., the authorities said. The FAA said that the pilot had declared an emergency and reported that several passengers were injured. Several ambulances arrived at the airport, and 30 people were taken to local hospitals, Coleman said.<br/>