Air New Zealand passenger’s leg ‘pretty much snapped in half’ when plane hit turbulence — then waits 6 hours to land

An Air New Zealand passenger’s leg “pretty much snapped in half” when his plane hit turbulence and “dropped” — leaving him in excruciating pain for more than 6 hours until it landed.

The 47-year-old flyer identified only as Niko was returning to his seat from the bathroom during a seven-hour flight Tuesday from Bali, where he lives, to Aukland, New Zealand, when the plane hit extreme turbulence, officials confirmed to the New Zealand Herald

Niko’s leg “pretty much snapped in half,” explained a friend who was due to meet him and his partner, Sasha, at the airport early Wednesday.

The turbulence was so unsettling that the pilot of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner later emerged from the cockpit to apologize to passengers, the paper said.

But Niko was forced to sit in excruciating pain for at least six hours until their flight landed, the friend said.

“There was a doctor on board the flight but only Panadol was available to be administered,” their friend said, referring to the local equivalent of Paracetamol.

“Crew asked some passengers to move from their seats so he was able to lie down for the remainder.”

When the plane finally landed, paramedics were waiting at the gate to treat Niko, who is originally from Germany and had been planning a nearly month-long stay in New Zealand.

An airport spokesperson confirmed to the Herald that its staff had responded to a passenger suffering from a turbulence-related injury early Wednesday.

One person with moderate injuries was treated and transported to Middlemore Hospital, the spokesperson said.

Air New Zealand said in a statement that the horrifying incident unfolded when the plane encountered “clear air turbulence,” or sudden, severe turbulence in cloudless skies that pilots are unable to see.

Chief operational integrity and safety officer Captain David Morgan said one passenger sustained an injury on flight NZ65 from Bali to Auckland.

“They were attended to by a doctor on board the aircraft. No other passenger injuries were reported to our crew,” Morgan said.

The incident comes about a month after some 50 passengers on a LATAM Airlines flight from Sydney to Auckland were injured when the plane took a serious nosedive, sending flyers crashing into the ceiling, leaving bloodstains above their seats.

Video posted online from the tumultuous flight showed one person lying unconscious in the middle of the aisle as others held their heads in apparent pain and shock.

In a statement, Chile-based LATAM Airlines said the flight had a “technical event” that caused a “strong movement.”