Turbulence Shuts Down Engine On SAS A330

An A330 lost an engine over Greenland because of turbulence.

Wikimedia/Bene Riobó/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

Some boisterous turbulence turned into an emergency on Thursday for the crew of an SAS A330. The air was rough enough to shut down an engine on the widebody over Greenland as it went from Stockholm to Miami. The crew was able to relight the engine but the jolt was enough to mandate an inspection. They headed for the nearest maintenance base able to do that work in Copenhagen. The flight lasted more than 10 hours and landed a few hundred miles from its departure point. There were 254 passengers onboard.

It would appear almost everyone on the plane was belted when the rough air, associated with a strong weather system that brought late season convective storms and possible mountain wave effects to southeastern Greenland, was encountered. Video shows passengers being lifted in their seats to the limits of their belts and service items hitting the ceiling. A few unbelted people were also reportedly launched skyward but there were no serious injuries. According to numerous social media accounts, the turbulence was forecast and the aircraft's flight plan took it through the highlighted area.

Russ Niles is Editor-in-Chief of AVweb. He has been a pilot for 30 years and joined AVweb 22 years ago. He and his wife Marni live in southern British Columbia where they also operate a small winery.