Reports have surfaced describing how a small private jet flipped over during a flight and dropped 10,000 feet after getting caught in the wake of a superjumbo Airbus A380.
The incident took place on Jan. 7 over the Arabian sea, seriously injuring one passenger aboard the Bombardier Challenger 604 and causing irreparable damage to the plane, which made an emergency landing in Muscat, Oman, according to NBC News.
No official determination has yet been made about the incident, which is being investigated by Germany’s Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation, but trade publication FlightGlobal reported March 8 that the jet rolled three times after hitting the turbulence and plunged 10,000 feet before pilots could regain enough control to land.
Oman’s Public Authority for Civil Aviation reported the landing as an emergency caused by left-hand engine failure, but it has not yet been confirmed by others involved in the investigation, FlightGlobal reported. The ongoing investigation will involve flight data and cockpit voice recorders, which had not been transferred at the time of the report.
The Daily Mail reported there were nine passengers and crew on the Bombardier Challenger when it flipped.
Turbulence from the wake of a large aircraft can be felt for several miles and is not detectable on radar, according to NBC News.
The Aviation Herald also reported about the incident, speculating which Airbus might have been in the area and reporting the smaller private jet was probably about 1,000 feet away from the Airbus when it encountered the turbulence. There were several Airbus A380 planes in the air over the Arabian Sea on the day of the incident.