Another aviation scandal shocked tourists: during an international flight, the crew of the German national airline Lufthansa obliged the passengers of the flight to erase all photos and videos from their phones during severe turbulence. Then the plane practically began to fall, reported Wionews.
The incident occurred with an Airbus A330-300 (D-AIKK) flight LH469 from the capital of the state of Texas Austin (USA) to Frankfurt (Germany). The airliner entered the turbulence zone and at some point began to descend sharply. The depth of the “air pit” was approximately 1.2 km. According to eyewitness Roland Schmidt, at that time chaos and panic began in the cabin: food and things flew in different directions, and frightened tourists screamed. However, the pilots were able to resolve the emergency and make an emergency landing at Dulles Airport in Washington (USA).
It was specified that Schmidt himself and six other passengers suffered injuries of varying degrees of severity during the accident: a concussion, a bruised arm, and a hip fracture. “I thought we were falling,” the victim told the media.
What outraged terrified tourists and the public was the airline staff’s harsh treatment of panicked customers: In a no-nonsense tone, travelers were ordered to delete all photos and videos of the turbulence and its aftermath, which some had managed to capture on their mobile phones.
However, other tourists after landing at their destination confirmed the fact that the crew had indeed ordered them to delete the photos and videos. However, several pictures and videos did make it to social networks. Among the authors of one of the videos is Camila Alves, the wife of American actor Matthew McConaughey, who was also on board. She posted a video of the incident on her social media page.
“During the flight last night, I was told that the plane fell almost 1.2 km, and seven people were hospitalized. Everything flew through the cabin. I respect the privacy of those around me – I only showed that CHAOS reigned on the plane, and the turbulence continued to grow. Thank God, everything is safe now,” said the tourist. Her post garnered over 2,400 comments.
At the same time, the Lufthansa airline did not provide any explanation for the possible cause of the turbulence and the behavior of the crew.