This is the moment a passenger is removed from the overhead bin after an Air Europa flight hit severe turbulence.
Shocking cellphone video shows the man with his feet dangling outside the compartment and being helped to the ground by two passengers before flight UX045, travelling from Madrid, Spain to Montevideo, Uruguay, was diverted and made an emergency landing in Natal, Brazil, on Monday.
A two-year-old child was also rescued from the roof of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner after the turbulence had ended.
The incident left 30 passengers with injuries to the head, face and spine. At least 23 passengers were taken to the Monsenhor Walfredo Gurgel Hospital.
Bolivian doctor Cecília Lagucci was traveling with her husband and two children; her two-year-old son was thrown from his seat by the violent movement of the aircraft and became trapped in the ceiling.
The impact of the turbulence suffered by Air Europa flight UX045 caused the fall of ceiling panels from the interior of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
Passengers rushed to help another traveler who was thrown from his seat and into the overhead bin area of the plane.
“My husband and I were looking for the little boy, who is two years old,” Dr Lagucci was quoted as saying by Brazilian media outlet G1. “And we found him on top of the suitcases. Part of the plane collapsed and the child was up there crying. My husband had to go and bring him back.”
Lagucci recalled waking up face down when the Air Europa plane carrying 325 passengers hit turbulence.
“People were flying over me and I couldn’t get up,” he said. “I felt the plane going down and I thought, ‘It’s going to level out now. ’ But it kept going down and down. Until they stabilized the plane and I was able to get up.”
Cellphone images showed sections of the plane’s ceiling panels torn off, an oxygen mask hanging over passenger seats and at least one seat that was completely damaged.
Air Europa flight UX045 bound for Montevideo, Uruguay, from Madrid, Spain, was diverted to Natal, Brazil, on Monday after experiencing severe turbulence that left 30 passengers injured.
Passengers are scheduled to board another Air Europa plane on Monday afternoon to continue their journey to Montevideo.
A male passenger is helped out of the overhead bin after being ejected from his seat following turbulence on an Air Europa flight from Spain to Uruguay.
Air Europa published a statement on X on Monday morning indicating that a new plane had been sent from Madrid and that passengers would be transferred by bus from Natal to Recife before flying to Montevideo.
‘We would like to inform you that our customers are moving to Recife, where they will stay and then travel to Montevideo. Natal was the airport that could most quickly serve passengers with medical needs,’ the airline said. ‘As it is not an AirEuropa destination, the company’s staff also travels to Natal and Recife to provide a better service to our customers.
‘All persons who have required medical attention are being treated at centres in Natal. Passengers will be notified with updated information on this operation. We will update the information with further information.’
Norys, a Venezuelan passenger living in Uruguay, told Uruguayan newspaper El Observador that the captain advised passengers and crew to fasten their seat belts because the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner was about to experience turbulence.
‘A long time after that, there was very, very slight turbulence, you could barely feel it, and then suddenly the plane dropped abruptly and we all stood up,’ Norys said.
“Those who were not wearing seat belts flew out and some were stuck to the roof. It lasted about 3.5 seconds.”
Oxygen masks were seen hanging inside the plane after an Air Europa flight encountered turbulence during its flight from Madrid, Spain to Montevideo, Uruguay early Monday morning.
Rescuers assisted passengers of Air Europa flight UX045 at Governador Aluízio Alves International Airport early Monday morning
A seat on Air Europa flight UX045 was severely damaged as a result of turbulence
Passengers disembark Air Europa flight UX045 in Natal, Brazil, following Monday’s emergency landing
He recalled that the injured passengers waited three hours lying on the floor of the plane before being rescued.
Juan, an Argentine lawyer returning home to Uruguay after a 40-day business and leisure trip, said the captain told him the plane was at 1,640 feet.
“The feeling was one of terror, of feeling like you’re falling and it’s not going to end. And you’re aware that you’re falling at an incalculable speed,” said Juan.
“And you felt like it was over, that you were going to die,” he added. “That was until we started to see on the screen that the plane was starting to rise.”
It was the second incident for Air Europa in less than 24 hours after a flight from Madrid to Tel Aviv was diverted to Rome.
The captain declared an emergency after flight UX1301 entered Italian airspace as the Boeing 787-9 aircraft was descending from 37,000 feet, according to AirNav RadarBox, a real-time flight tracking system.
DailyMail.com has contacted Air Europa for comment.