Passengers and crew tossed about like rag dolls as severe turbulence hits Beijing-bound Air China flight

Terrified passengers and crew on an Air China flight from Shanghai to Beijing have told how they were thrown about like rag dolls when their plane hit severe turbulence which left several people injured. The A330 aircraft took off at 3.24pm on July 10 from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and landed at the Beijing Capital International Airport as scheduled at 5.18pm. Turbulence hit about 40 minutes before landing, passengers told the People’s Daily. One of them, Xing Lida, a Beijing-based palaeobiologist, or scientist who studies fossils, said the first half of the flight was normal, but less than an hour before landing, while many passengers were out of their seats to go to the toilet, the plane experienced a sudden drop in altitude. The airline confirmed that the plane encountered a clear sky turbulence and said its pilots and crew members dealt with the situation according to safety rules. “During this process, a passenger and a flight attendant were injured. After the plane landed, we sent staff with them to hospital to receive medical treatment. We send our best wishes to the injured passenger and the employee,” the company said in a statement. Other passengers told the newspaper that pillows and water bottles were tossed into the air during the incident.<br/>