Originally Posted By Ursula ...my seatbelt when I'm in a plane for this exact reason. I get in, I do the belt up, and I wait and then we take off and then we land and then I undo the belt once the plane has stopped moving. If I have to visit the loo, that is the ONLY time I take it off. (And then, I'm cautious about it.) <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/04/plane.turbulence/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/...dex.html</a> (CNN) -- People were "thrown to the roof as if they were dolls" and some feared for their lives when a Continental Airlines flight ran into turbulence, shaken passengers said. Oxygen masks hang from a damaged part of the plane Monday, in a photo by passenger Camila Machado. The turbulence struck without warning several hours into Monday's Continental Flight 128 from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Houston, Texas. The pilot diverted the Boeing 767-200 to Miami, Florida, to get treatment for the injured. Continental said seven passengers were transported to hospitals, and about 28 other passengers were treated at the scene. Lt. Elkin Sierra of the Miami-Dade Fire Department said 26 passengers were injured, including four seriously. "The airplane came down very sharply, and all of us bumped our heads against the ceiling -- twice," Brazilian passenger Celi Dfaria told CNN affiliate WSVN-TV at Miami-Dade International Airport. "It dropped so hard that everything in the seat-back pockets just flew up in the air. I caught my phone in my lap," passenger Richard Sharp told the Houston Chronicle. "The second one was the devastating one. That's when the plane really fell," Fabio Ottolini of Houston, who with his wife and daughter was returning from a visit with family in Brazil, told affiliate KTRK-TV in Houston. "While it was doing that, I saw people being thrown to the roof as if they were dolls." Aloiso Dias thought the plane dropped more than twice. "I felt like I was on a roller coaster," he told WSVN-TV. "I couldn't even see what happened with my wife. I was just holding onto the front of the seat and going with the flow." He couldn't see because the cabin lights had gone out and "it was pitch black outside," Frederick Bright told the Houston Chronicle. "I went up, and it was like I was in the air for a minute. Then I came down and I hit my back on the armrest, then I fell into the chair," he said. "I thought I was going to die because the lights went off completely, and all I could see was the red lights" on the wings. Most of those who were injured had not been wearing seat belts, passengers said. "It was like in the movies -- anybody who didn't have a seat belt on came right out of their chairs," Manuel Alfaro of Houston told the Chronicle. "It smacked everyone around." Several people hit the ceiling hard, witnesses said. "People that weren't seatbelted in flew up and hit the ceiling, so their heads and their faces hit the plastics all up at the top," John Norwood of Houston told WSVN-TV. "A couple of people were badly hurt from the plastic breaking on their faces from the lights. There were people cut, bleeding. There were a few people unconscious." Deanna Buckley of Houston hit the ceiling but wasn't hurt. "I hit my head on the light above and it broke the light out and I was showered in glass," she told WSVN-TV. "I was lucky, though. There were people on there whose faces were cut up. It was terrible." The turbulence came suddenly, catching many passengers asleep. "It seemed like the back of the plane got it the worst, though, probably because there's more people in the back and a lot of people didn't have their seat belts on," Sharp told the Chronicle. "You had a lot of people sleeping across the empty rows, so those people were bouncing around on the armrests. They really took the brunt of the beating in the back." One of those was 13-year-old Thiago Candido, who was traveling unaccompanied. "Oh, I was scared man," Candido told KTRK-TV. "I was sleeping and I woke up with my head in the ceiling. I didn't know what was going on. "I thought the plane was falling, just like a big earthquake, but in the air," he said. The flight carried 168 passengers and 11 crew members. Continental flew remaining passengers to Houston later Monday. "I think the most important thing about this whole episode is seat belts, all the time," Ottolini told KTRK-TV. "Because we have no way to predict what happened. It just happened."
Originally Posted By iamsally The last time I flew home from Arkansas we hit some pretty rough turbulence. There was a loud "whoa" throughout the plane as we were lifted several inches out of our seats. Yeah, I keep my seatbelt on.
Originally Posted By smedley Count me in on the group who always has their seatbelt done up unless I head to the bathroom. From the minute I board until the seatbelt light goes off at the exit point.
Originally Posted By Sara Tonin I saw this story on the news last night and as I am comtemplating my first airline flight this fall I believe I will follow Ursula's shinning example and leave the seatbelt on for the entire ride.
Originally Posted By beamerdog Ditto, too, Ursula. Also I always wear my seat belt in the car. I once went through a windshield in the days before seat belts. Not at all fun. I always wear earrings.
Originally Posted By u k fan I always wear my seatbelt as well unless I'm getting up. It's much easier than messing around if the seatbelt light does come on to just have it on all the time. I also always wear a few beads on a cord that my neice made!!!
Originally Posted By Ursula The car seatbelt is/should always be a given too. How many times do we hear of accidents and no one had one on? What were they thinking?
Originally Posted By Schmitty Good Vibes I'm a frequent flyer and I always leave my belt on. I don't think I ever even loosen it, but I probably would on a long flight. On one of my most recent flights I would have hit my head if I hadn't had the belt on. It's the only time that's happened, but I'm glad I had the belt on. I thought Ursula was going to say she ALWAYS wears lipstick ; - )
Originally Posted By mickeymeg I don't like to fly, but when I do the belt is always on tightly. Turbulence is very scary. On of the last flights I was on I thought the plane might fall right out of the sky it was jumping around so much.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss I usually buckle up for the full duration, but sometimes not. I also know that you should consider what you're wearing, just in case there is a catastrophe, but I admit sometimes I'm more concerned about comfort than about "what if."
Originally Posted By disneylandfan8 My seat belt is always on when I'm riding in anything where a seat belt is provided. Safety first! I thought Ursula was going to say she always wears her leopard ears!!! :0)
Originally Posted By ophellia I just keep mine On...and my legs lightly resting over my dogs carrier...wish they had a way to secure her better... and I carry my sparkly MouseEars of Gold and another of Silver in my laptop case...
Originally Posted By teddibubbles if my mother HAD been wereing her seat belt. in the one car wreck. in 1970. the WAY it happened. she would not be all the way disabled from a broken neck. I lived in riverside ca many many years. and I have been in 8 car wrecks. my hubby knows I have HUGE car fears. he drives me in the early morning/ night time hours if we can. to go on trips. like if we go out toward disneyland. we hit riverside at 3 am and go on from there. people have seen me shaking so horable. in cars. some times. I am not to bad. but god is good. he gave me a dear hubby that understands my huge fear. and if we can. does the off hwy. routes. and hours that suit us more. once I get to a town. street diving is not too bad. but I won't go out of town. unless I know I can stay more than 3 days.. I can't take the drive.. I tryed a few times. strate dive to disneyland day time.. ended up in the ER. from the excitement of my best happy place.. on top of the shakes.. end up hyper vent a late..and asthema.. so I know me.. IS THE DRIVE WORTH IT? the stress. I need time to unwind.. we do the drive.. go to dennys at 4-5 am. eat rest. then go sit / lie down in the van. at our park.. then mess around untill we get our hotel room. if we feel ok. we stroll around the disney stuff. if not we rest and grab out fun food stops. untill next day.. so much better then a falling apart me. and dog tired hubby.
Originally Posted By piratebrittany >>I thought Ursula was going to say she ALWAYS wears lipstick ; - )<< HAHAHA! I was thinking this same exact thing. I KNOW my aunt and I just figured this was a fashion thread. Lol.
Originally Posted By wonderingalice Well, in typical fashion for me, I thought she was going to say "clean panties" and regale us with a story of someone who didn't and suffered the humiliation... ;-) Count me in with airplane seatbelt wearers... Always. I can't remember the last time I stood up during a flight. Even going to Hawaii in 2005, I didn't get up once. (I cannot handle using airplane restrooms unless it's a dire emergency. Bleecchh!)
