Some boisterous turbulence turned into an emergency on Thursday for the crew of an SAS A330. The air was rough enough to shut down an engine on the widebody over Greenland as it went from Stockholm to Miami. The crew was able to relight the engine but the jolt was enough to mandate an inspection. They headed for the nearest maintenance base able to do that work in Copenhagen. The flight lasted more than 10 hours and landed a few hundred miles from its departure point.
It would appear almost everyone on the plane was belted when the rough air, associated with a strong weather system that brought late season convective storms and possible mountain wave effects to southeastern Greenland, was encountered. Video shows passengers being lifted in their seats to the limits of their belts and service items hitting the ceiling. A few unbelted people were also reportedly launched skyward but there were no serious injuries. According to numerous social media accounts, the turbulence was forecast and the aircraft’s flight plan took it through the highlighted area.
