Unsettling Ride Injured 10

Air Canada plans to compensate passengers who endured a jolting ride aboard Flight AC190 last Thursday, in which ten people were injured.

According to the Edmonton Journal, the airline is contacting the passengers, but won't say what sort of compensation it may offer -- a ticket refund, or something more.

"That's something we'll discuss with the passengers themselves," said airline spokesman Peter Fitzgerald.

As ANN reported last week, the Air Canada Airbus A319 was enroute from Victoria, BC to Toronto when the plane apparently encountered severe turbulence, dropping 4000 feet in a matter of seconds, and forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing in Calgary.

The flight of 83 passengers and five crew was level at 35,000 feet over the Rocky Mountains, 65 miles southwest of Cranbrook, when it suddenly jolted and rocked from side-to-side, throwing some passengers out of their seats.

Early reports pointed to a particularly violent encounter with turbulence, but passengers say the pilot told them of an additional problem once the airplane was back under control.

"The pilot came on very shortly afterwards to say that the computer was knocked out -- and I don't know if this happened before or after -- and they were on manual pilot, so he was flying the plane and assured us the plane was under their control," said passenger Jayne Harvey to CTV.

The crew declared an emergency, diverted to Calgary, and made a safe landing. The aircraft stopped on the runway for a visual inspection by airport emergency response personnel, then taxied to the terminal.

A preliminary report from Transport Canada states the possibility of an issue with the aircraft's flight management system computer will be investigated.

Air Canada Vice-President Duncan Dee told Ottawa reporters, "I can't speculate on what the cause was, whether it was turbulence or otherwise. There will not only be an internal investigation, but a governmental investigation as well."

Air Canada currently operates more than 30 Airbus A319s.

FMI: www.aircanada.com