Italian aviation authorities investigate after turbulence injures two easyJet flight attendants

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LONDON (AP) — Italian authorities have launched an investigation after two easyJet flight attendants were injured when their flight from Corfu to London’s Gatwick Airport was buffeted by turbulence earlier this week.

As a result of the incident, the pilot made an unscheduled landing at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport at 1:48 p.m. on Monday. The two crew members received medical treatment in Rome, and the passengers completed their journey on a replacement aircraft, easyJet said in a statement.

Italy’s civil aviation authority opened a safety investigation into the incident, which it classified as an accident due to “the type and severity of the injuries reported.” While neither the agency nor easyJet released details of the injuries, news reports indicated that one flight attendant broke her leg and another had a severely sprained ankle.

The incident comes less than three months after a 73-year-old British man died of a suspected heart attack and dozens of other passengers were injured when a Singapore Airlines flight ran into severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean.

While turbulence-related deaths are rare, injuries have piled up in recent years, with some meteorologists and aviation analysts noting that reports of aircraft encountering turbulence have also increased.

Meteorologists point to the impact of climate change, which increases the difference in temperature between the warm and cold air masses in the upper atmosphere that together form the jet stream of air flowing from east to west around the globe. These air masses collide and unsettle the jet stream, generating greater turbulence.