LONDON (AP) — Italian authorities have launched an investigation after two EasyJet flight attendants were injured during turbulence on their flight from Corfu to London’s Gatwick Airport earlier this week.
As a result of the incident, the pilot made an unscheduled landing at Rome Fiumicino Airport on Monday at 1:48 p.m. The two crew members received medical treatment in Rome and the passengers continued their journey on a replacement aircraft, EasyJet said in a statement.
The Italian Civil Aviation Authority opened a safety investigation into the incident, which it ruled an accident due to “the nature and severity of the injuries reported.” While neither the authority nor EasyJet released details of the injuries, media reports said one flight attendant broke her leg and another severely sprained her ankle.
The incident occurred less than three months after a 73-year-old British man died, presumably of a heart attack, and dozens of other passengers were injured when a Singapore Airlines flight got into severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean.
Although turbulence-related deaths are rare, Injuries have increased In recent years, the number of aircraft encountering turbulence has also increased, according to some meteorologists and aviation analysts.
Meteorologists point to the effects of climate change, which is increasing the temperature difference between the warm and cold air masses in the upper atmosphere that together form the jet stream that flows from east to west around the globe. These air masses collide and disrupt the jet stream, causing greater turbulence.
