Passenger burned, crew member catapulted into roof as New Zealand flight faces extreme turbulence

Severe turbulence on a New Zealand Airlines flight ended up injuring a crew member and burning a passenger on Sunday afternoon (Jun 16). The NZ607 flight from Wellington to Queenstown experienced massive jolts as flight attendants were serving hot refreshments to the passengers. It was during this moment that an attendant accidentally poured hot coffee over a female passenger. Also, another flight attendant was catapulted into the roof of the aircraft, which resulted in injury.

Both of them were rushed to Lakes District Hospital in 'moderate' condition, a spokesperson of Hato Hone St John said.

She received burns and a paramedic attended to her, said a report by Crux. "She had some blistering," it added.

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On the other hand, the female passenger said she experienced the worst turbulence on a flight ever. "The jolting and dropping, tilting slightly sideways felt like those parts where you go on a rollercoaster and start dropping down then boost back up," she said.

"There's nothing you can do. You're strapped in, you want to stay strapped in, there could be more turbulence and then you've got to deal with the level of burns you've just received. I was able to get hold of a bottle of cold water and start dousing myself and I was able to speak to the hostess who was still lying on the floor and said 'is it alright if I get water everywhere cos that's what I'm going to be doing?' and she said 'go for it," she added.

Air New Zealand chief operational integrity and safety officer Captain David Morgan later confirmed that two people sustained injuries on the flight.

"The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is our number one priority, and our crew are trained to respond to these situations,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

(With inputs from agencies)