United B772 near Quebec on Jan 16th 2014, turbulence injures 5 flight attendants

A United Boeing 777-200, registration N78017 performing flight UA-89 from Newark,NJ (USA) to Beijing (China) with 189 passengers and 16 crew, was enroute at FL330 about 60nm northeast of Quebec City,QC (Canada) about 50 minutes into the flight when the aircraft encountered turbulence that caused minor injuries, bumps and bruises, to five flight attendants. The captain decided to return to Newark, where the aircraft landed safely about 2 hours later. The injured were taken to a hospital.

The flight was cancelled.

The Canadian TSB reported the flight crew declared medical emergency after multiple flight attendants sustained injures when the aircraft experienced severe turbulence at FL330.

The airline reported five flight attendants received minor injuries in the turbulence encounter.

Passengers reported the flight attendants were just serving dinner when the aircraft suddenly encountered turbulence.

Infrared Satellite Image GOES-E (Graphics: AVH/NASA):