Flight Attendants Suffer Shocking Injuries After ‘Severe’ Turbulence

A flight to the sunny Spanish island of Majorca turned into a nightmare in the skies when a Ryanair plane was slammed by sudden, violent turbulence—leaving two flight attendants injured and passengers shaken.

The Sunday afternoon flight from Vitoria, Spain, was nearing its destination when the aircraft hit a rough patch of weather just before landing. Storms were already lashing the island, and what should have been a routine descent became a frightening ordeal.

According to local reports, the flight attendants were in the middle of safety checks when the plane lurched. One crew member was violently thrown into the ceiling, while another was struck by a runaway service trolley. All 180 passengers on board were left rattled. Emergency responders met the plane upon landing in Palma, and both injured staff members were given medical attention.

This isn’t the first time Ryanair has faced trouble in the skies recently. Just a few months ago, another one of their flights—from Berlin to Milan—encountered extreme turbulence over southern Germany. In that case, nine people were hurt, and passengers reported being hurled from their seats into the ceiling as the jet was caught in a thunderstorm.

One shaken traveler told Germany’s BILD: “I’ve never been scared on a plane before—but in that moment, I thought we were going to break apart.”

Even more disturbing, a mother and her baby were reportedly using the lavatory during that earlier episode, adding to the panic onboard.

Unfortunately, stories like these are becoming more common. From India to the U.S. to the icy skies over Greenland, recent months have seen a surge in reports of extreme turbulence:

• In India, a flight from New Delhi to Srinagar was rocked by hail, lightning, and even a bird strike. Passengers were filmed screaming as flashes lit up the cabin.
• In Texas, a United Express flight made an emergency landing in March after five people were injured mid-air.
• And last November, passengers on a Scandinavian Airlines jet flying from Stockholm to Miami were thrown into the ceiling during an especially rough stretch over Greenland. The flight turned around and headed all the way back to Europe.

One man on that flight captured the chaos on video: “Look at her feet touching the ceiling!” he exclaimed as a woman flew upwards during the shaking. “I thought we were going to die.”

As weather patterns grow more unpredictable, experts warn that incidents like these could become more frequent. For older travelers—many of whom remember when flying was a far more glamorous (and smooth) affair—it’s an unsettling new reality.

So the next time you’re buckling up, don’t take that seatbelt warning lightly. It just might save you from a rough ride.