An Air France flight from Paris to New York experienced an unusually strong bout of turbulence while flying over England on Tuesday, causing passengers to scream, hold each others' hands and pray.
Four of the crew members were injured when the plane lost altitude about an hour into the flight; at this point, beverages were being served.
The pilots turned the plane around and flew back to Paris, where firefighters and paramedics met the aircraft when it landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
#AirFrance confirms that flight #AF006 on 11/4/2014 from CDG to JFK encountered strong turbulence at the beginning of the cruise phase (1/4)— Air France Newsroom (@AFnewsroom) November 4, 2014
The flight crew decided to return to Paris-CDG where the aircraft landed normally at 16:26 (local time) #AF006 (2/4)— Air France Newsroom (@AFnewsroom) November 4, 2014
Passenger Aarti Virani told The Daily Mail that the sudden and unexpected turbulence gave her flashbacks to the 7.3 magnitude earthquake in Japan in 1995.
"When the strongest gusts hit us, they came without warning because when we were ascending, the pilot made a short announcement saying it was going to be a smooth ride and there were a few clouds, but when we get above them, that it should be a smooth ride to New York," Virani said.
The crew "suffered various but uncomplicated bruises," according to Air France spokesperson Ulli Gendrot, who added that it was "clear skies turbulence."
Medical assistance was provided to passengers and crew as soon as the aircraft arrived at its parking stand #AF006 (4/4)— Air France Newsroom (@AFnewsroom) November 4, 2014
The airline also tweeted that three of those passengers suffered concussions.
None of the 484 passengers on board were injured.
Air France also confirms that no passengers were injured on #AF006. This should be a stark reminder to ALWAYS wear your seatbelt in-flight.— Jason Rabinowitz (@AirlineFlyer) November 4, 2014
Passengers were rescheduled to different flights Wednesday and Thursday.