Physician Treats Injured Inflight

A KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight encountered some serious turbulence Thursday -- enough to injure 10 passengers during a brief but rapid free fall.

The flight was enroute to Japan's Kansai Airport when it encountered turbulence at about 33,000 feet over St. Petersburg, Russia. The Boeing 777-200, with 276 passengers and crew on board, continued its trip without further incident and landed about eight hours later at Kansai Airport in Osaka.

Passengers said the pilot instructed them to fasten their safety belts and shortly thereafter, the plane began pitching then went a free fall which caused some to hit their heads on the ceiling of the aircraft.

The three-minute incident injured seven passengers and toppled a meal cart that resulted in some burn injuries. Three Dutch crew members received minor injuries. A passenger who is also a physician reportedly attended to the injured, according to the Seattle Times.

Passenger Kiyoko Nishikawa said, "I felt the plane rolling and free falling. People screamed, and wine splashed on the ceiling. A flying cup and a plate fell on my head."

The aircraft suffered no damage.

FMI: www.klm.com