Airline Passenger Breaks Ankle After Shocking Turbulence

A routine British Airways flight from Los Angeles to London turned into a mid-air horror show when a sleeping passenger wandered into the aisle at the exact moment the giant Airbus A380 was slammed by violent turbulence — snapping his ankle in an instant.

The December 2024 incident happened over the icy darkness south of Greenland, where investigators say a sudden blast of “clean-air turbulence” hit without warning. The jet, carrying 277 passengers, bucked so hard that a crew member also broke her ankle while desperately trying to strap into her jump seat.

According to a newly released report from the U.K.’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch, the injured passenger never realized the seatbelt sign had been switched on.

“He had been asleep,” investigators wrote. “He didn’t hear the announcements. He described the aircraft as experiencing ‘light chop’ — until it suddenly lurched upward and sideways. He believes the floor moved under him and snapped his ankle.”

A witness on board described the moment as “a violent jolt that felt like the plane hit a wall.”

The cabin crew member injured in the same jolt was reportedly trying to buckle in as the turbulence struck. “She didn’t make it in time,” the report noted.

Then things got even worse. Another passenger collapsed and lost consciousness minutes after the initial injuries, sending the cabin into deeper panic.

A former commercial pilot explained how terrifying — and unpredictable — these episodes can be.

“Turbulence like this is invisible,” he said. “It can hit a perfectly smooth flight and throw people like rag dolls. This is exactly why you stay buckled, even when you think everything’s fine.”

British Airways continued the flight to London, where emergency teams rushed aboard to treat the injured.

Aviation analysts say dangerous turbulence events have surged in recent years. Some experts blame changing jet streams. Others point to crowded trans-Atlantic routes. But passengers who lived through the December scare say they don’t care why it happened — only how close it came to being far worse.

“It came out of nowhere,” one shaken traveler told us. “People screamed. Things flew. If more of us had been standing, we’d be talking about a much bigger disaster.”

The AAIB offered a final warning: turbulence is unpredictable, unforgiving, and increasingly common.

And sometimes, all it takes is one sleepy walk down the aisle to land you in a nightmare.