'So scary' - Irish passenger on turbulence-hit Dublin flight recalls 'horrible' experience

An Irish passenger on board the turbulence-hit flight from Doha to Dublin yesterday told of the chaos on board as the plane suddenly plummeted hundreds of feet without warning.

Twelve people were hurt in the incident, eight of whom were taken to hospital upon landing in Dublin according to Dublin Airport, with shocked travellers describing how flight attendants were tossed into the air and hit the ceiling of the aircraft.

The incident occurred five days after a British man died of a suspected heart attack and dozens of people were injured when a Singapore Airlines flight from London encountered severe turbulence.

Abbie Clare, who was returning home to Dublin from a holiday in Qatar with her mother and sister, said the experience caused her to "fear for her life".

Abbie was quick to take a photo of the chaotic scenes aboard the flight following the turbulence, which happened shortly after passengers had been served food.

Describing the mess, Abbie said that most passengers did not have their seatbelts on at the time as they were eating, and many of the flight crew were standing in the aisle serving passengers.

"I had literally just gotten up to use the bathroom, gone to strap myself back into the seat, and I had my belt in my hand when the plane dropped," Abbie said. "I couldn't put the belt on in time".

"It didn't feel like a short drop either, it was out of nowhere. Boom, straight down. Next moment, I was up in the air, I was literally hit off of the roof of the plane."

Explaining that she had been bruised in the incident, Abbie continued, saying she "landed back down on the ground, and there was others around being thrown up into the air. 

As the sounds of screams rang out throughout the plane, Abbie described how many of the staff "were standing at the time, so when it dropped due to the turbulence they were lifted off of their feet. It was so scary".

"I think a few got scalded from the hot food and drinks everyone had at the time, and I believe there was some broken wrists aswell".

A warning of turbulence had been issued to passengers, but according to Abbie the seatbelt sign ad not been turned on. 

"Whatever happened, I'm not sure, but I have to thank the pilot, because I genuinely feared for my life like never before. I thought "I'm dead, this is how I'm going to go."

In a statement on the latest incident, Dublin airport said the Qatar Airways flight landed safely as scheduled shortly before 1pm on Sunday.

Emergency services, including ambulances, were seen on the ground around the plane after it landed in Dublin. In an updated statement at 3pm yesterday, Dublin airport said all passengers had been assessed for injury before disembarking the plane, and eight were taken to hospital.

Abbie's mother and sister were not among the injured, but Abbie suffered bruising across her arm, back and left leg, and still has serious pain in her ribs.

"I'm going to the doctor today to get it all checked over. I travel a good bit and it’s put me off flying long haul for a good while because it was just so scary," Abbie said.

"It was mad after the chaos happened because some people were horrible to the staff, who had been shaken and injured just as much as us. It was just a really bad experience."