The Turbulence Was so Bad a Flight Attendant and Beverage Cart Hit the Ceiling

On Sunday, June 16 an ALK Airlines flight VBB-7205 from Pristina in Kosovo to Basel Mulhouse near the shared border point of France, Germany, and Switzerland provided even greater flight than promised when passengers booked their itinerary.

The Boeing 737-300 with 121 people on board encountered severe turbulence at 34,000 feet about 30 minutes prior to the end of the 745 mile flight. The pilots were deviating around a thunderstorm and eventually landed on runway 15 as planned.

It experienced turbulence so bad, though, that 10 passengers were ultimately taken to the hospital on arrival. No emergency was declared. Some passengers reported that “seats were ripped out of their anchoring” however this turns out not to be accurate.

Video filmed by a passenger shows a flight attendant “flying up toward the ceiling of the aircraft, along with the drink cart, which spills over several passengers. One of the soaked travelers can also be seen praying immediately after the cart comes crashing down.”

When the incident occurred the seat belt sign was on, although it’s not clear how long that had been the case. Crew, however, had not been ordered to sit.

The return flight to Pristina was delayed about an hour because of the incident, and all of the required passenger seats were still on the plane.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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  1. This happened to me about 30 years ago – SFO to JFK over the Rockies. Taught me to always wear my seat belt.

  2. THIS is why you should always keep your seat belt fastened… Even if the seat belt sign is turned off. Turbulence happens.

  3. Most reputable airlines , ie those that take “duty of care” to staff seriously, require that cabin crew be seated when the seat belt sign is on. Others have crew wait for a specific instruction from the cockpit.
    Flying through that area , on the edge of The Alps, is unrepdictable..

  4. When I look at the role of Flight Attendants following severe incidents or crashes, I think they should remain belter for the entire flight and food/bev service ought to be self-serve

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