British Airways crew member needed surgery after severe turbulence

A mom-of-two was terrified she and her family “were going to die” on a British Airways flight rocked by turbulence that “made the plane completely free fall” – and left one crew member needing surgery.

Jade Crosland, 31, was flying from Singapore to London with her kids and her partner on Friday when the Boeing 777 was buffeted by violent turbulence, which left the passengers and crew scared for their lives.

“Everyone was completely panicking and filled with fear,” she told the UK’s Independent. “Normally when you know there’s turbulence or something happens, you look to the cabin crew to support … and the cabin crew were completely frantic as well.”

Crosland said pilots can usually anticipate turbulence, but “this specific air bubble can’t be detected, so we just flew straight through it” adding that it “just made the plane completely free fall” while she was trying to strap her daughter into her seat.

Food trays flew across the cabin and a trolley struck one of the flight attendants in the head, knocking him unconscious, she told the outlet.

Four other crew members were seriously hurt during the horror at 30,000 feet, including one who suffered a dislocated ankle and required surgery, The Sun reported.

One flight attendant who suffered severe bruising on her hip had to get an MRI exam after the flight was forced to turn back to Singapore due to the turbulence, which began over the Bay of Bengal and lasted a whopping 20 minutes.

“It felt like an eternity,” Crosland told the Independent. “I thought we were going to die.”

The plane was checked for structural damage in Singapore, where the passengers were given hotel accommodations and rebooked on other flights.

Crosland, a frequent flier, praised the crew members for their response and said she and her family took the next available flight to the UK.

“Safety is always our priority and we’re looking after our crew after one of our flights experienced a rare episode of severe turbulence,” a British Airways rep told the Independent.

“Our highly trained team on board reassured customers and the aircraft returned to Singapore as a precaution,” the spokesperson added.