Canada
Edmonton Flight Bound for Mexico Forced to Land in Montana
A Sunwing jet from Mexico bound for Edmonton was forced to land in Montana due to a medical emergency Sunday after encountering turbulance.
Photograph by: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg , Financial Post
The early morning flight out of Edmonton was en route to popular holiday destination, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, when the craft experienced turbulence near the U.S. – Canadian border. The sustained and extreme-level turbulence lasted for more than 90 seconds, during which two flight attendants were thrown about the cabin.
One attendant was injured, suffering a lesion to his head during the chaos. The captain chose to make an unscheduled landing in Montana to seek evaluation and possible treatment for him. Medical staff on the ground examined and cleared him as well as the other flight attendant involved.
No passengers were injured during the turbulence, thanks to the timely use of the fasten seat belt signs, which were in use when the incident occurred.
An unfortunate side-note: due to customs regulations and the small size of Helena Regional Airport, passengers waited several hours for the arrival of custom’s officials in order to disembark from the plane. Agents are not normally available on weekends there. During the extended wait, passengers received a meal service.
The plane did not sustain damage during the turbulence, but was replaced as a precaution. The new plane arrived after 4 p.m. local time, nine hours after the initial landing took place. Happily, passengers are expected to arrive in Puerto Vallarta some time tonight.
Sources:
CBC News – Edmonton: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/mexico-bound-edmonton-flight-forced-to-land-in-montana-1.2575152
Yahoo! News – Canada: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/mexico-bound-edmonton-flight-forced-land-montana-223425234.html