According to a CNN report, 35 passengers on Lufthansa flight 440 from Germany to Houston were injured when the jet encountered severe turbulence over the Atlantic. The plane has structural damage (so that must have been some wild ride). My sympathy to the passengers and crew!!!

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Southwest....ap/index.html

Please don't tell us that any of the "injured" (which is a VERY subjective term) were not wearing their seat belts because I refuse to "feel sorry" for any of those. Some people just don't listen and when was the last time you were on an airplane and the seat belt sign came on in the middle of a flight and there wasn't also an anouncement? Then again, perhaps the turbulence was very sudden...all the more reason to wear the belts continually wouldn't you agree?

Gee Intrepid, maybe you're built like a camel but I'm not. I have to get up and use the bathroom numerous times on a trans-atlantic trip and haven't yet figured out a way to keep my belt on while doing so. The airlines tell passengers to keep their belt on while in flight (and I always do), but they also now tell passengers to walk around the cabin periodically so they don't get deep vein thrombois and embolisms. And by the way, the reports I read say the majority were injured by things falling out of the overhead cabins. Being belted wouldn't make a darn bit of difference there.

So call me a softy, but I'll feel sorry for every one who was injured, whether belted or unbelted. No one deserves to get hurt.

And what about the flight attendants? Man! People are freaking me out today.

You have not lived until you encounter severe turbulence while sitting on "the throne" and wearing tan pants.

intrepid, where you by chance a nun in a former life? Still, having the flight attendants carry rulers and wack the fool out of unbelted passengers might get some positive results.

Yikes! My sympathies as well. If the turbulance was so severe that the plane has structural damage, then it must have been rather terrifying, even for those who had their seat belts fastened.

It couldn't have been that bad. The flight continued straight into houston, not making an emergency landing at the nearest east coast airport.

We always keep our seatbelts loosely fastened, but get up often to walk and move around. It's a long haul from SFO to our favorite destinations! Guess it's just "luck of the draw" when you hit one of these freak things, and hopefully you will be sitting, buckled in your seat, whether or not you're wearing tan pants.

"Man! People are freaking me out today."

And the day is early. I'm flying Lufthansa in a month and a half, so I'm buying a hard hat.

Also maitaitom, don't forget a lid for your drink of choice...it would be shame if your Mai Tai was splattered all over the ceiling of the plane!

"....it would be shame if your Mai Tai was splattered all over the ceiling of the plane!"

When on a plane, I make a habit of gripping my mai tai tight in case of extreme turbulence. Thanks for the lid idea.