Terrible Turbulence Throws ALK Airlines Flight Attendant Into the Ceiling

And that’s exactly what passengers on a recent ALK Airlines flight from Pristina, Kosovo, to EuroAirport Basel, France, experienced. The turbulence started 20 minutes before landing and lasted for about 10 minutes, forcing the pilot to slightly steer off course.

About 10 seconds of it was captured by one of the passengers and, while the video doesn’t offer the full picture, it does make possible a better appreciation of how badly things got. One of the flight attendants was literally thrown into the ceiling of the plane, and Mirjeta Basha, who shared the video on social media, says that her tray was sent in the same direction.

“People started screaming and crying,” Basha told the local media. “A flight attendant slammed her trolley on the ceiling. Cups flew around, some were scalded by hot water. I thought we all had to die. My husband has scalded his neck.”

The video shows a woman putting on her coat, as per the instructions of the flight attendant. Then, a second jolt sends the flight attendant and her tray into the ceiling, and liquid pours down on everyone, including the woman, who is now joining her hands in prayer.

However, as bad as it was, it wasn’t as bad as it was reported in the media. MarketWatch claims that seatbelts came off and seats were ripped from the ground, but that’s not accurate.

“The flight from Pristina with airline ALK experienced turbulence in the air around 20 minutes before landing,” an official for the EuroAirport Basel says for ABC News. “The pilot alerted handling agents so that the airport firemen were immediately on the scene when the plane arrived.”

ALK Airlines has also issued a statement to set the record straight, noting that the landing was “normal” after all and that no seats were dislodged in the turbulence. A state of emergency was never declared.