Qantas Flight Experiences Severe Turbulence - 6 Hurt

Qantas Airways Ltd., Australia’s largest airline, said a flight between Hong Kong and Perth experienced severe turbulence overnight resulting in injuries to six passengers and one crew member.

The disruption occurred about 4 hours out of Hong Kong, Sydney-based Qantas said in a statement sent by e-mail today. The captain of flight QF68, an Airbus A330-300, reported damage to two overhead panels in the cabin. Two oxygen masks were also dislodged, it said.
Qantas doesn’t believe the incident is related to others involving A330 aircraft, it said.

Air France flight AF447, an Airbus A330-200, crashed June 1 with 228 people aboard while flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. French investigators have yet to find conclusive evidence on what caused the crash.

Qantas flight QF68 is operating normally and was scheduled to land in Perth, capital of Western Australia state, at 7:30 a.m. local time, the airline said. The incident has been reported to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which will investigate, according to Qantas.

(Bloomberg.com)