Kristine W feared for life on turbulent Delta Air Lines flight

New York Post

4 days ago

EDM star Kristine W feared for her life when violent turbulence rocked her Amsterdam-bound Delta Air Lines flight Wednesday, sending 25 passengers to hospital.
Now, the 'The Boss' songstress believes she has a concussion after she was sent flying into the overhead compartment aboard the rattling Airbus A330-900, a model of aircraft her lawyers allege has a history of malfunctions and shouldn't have been cleared to fly.
'It was absolutely horrifying … I've been performing for 40 years and I've been on airplanes all over the world, and I've never experienced anything like that. I thought, 'We were not going to make it on this one,'' the singer, whose real name is Kristine Elizabeth Weitz, told The Post in an exclusive interview.
5 Singer Kristine W suffered injuries aboard the turbulent Delta Air Lines flight that made an emergency landing this week.
Getty Images for iHeartRadio
'I'm a leukemia survivor, and the last time I felt that kind of terror and hopelessness was when I was diagnosed with leukemia 25 years ago.'
Weitz was aboard the fated plane out of Salt Lake City to perform at a festival in Amsterdam — posting a joyful picture of herself and her daughter at the gate shortly before takeoff.
They were just about an hour into the flight when the attendants were serving drinks and the plane, which can seat more than 250 people, began rattling violently. Passengers were thrown around with food carts and other belongings flying through the cabin.
The turbulence came out of nowhere, so the seatbelt light was still off, Weitz recalled.
5 Weitz and her daughter seen smiling at the gate before the flight.
Kristine W /Instagram
The 17-time Billboard chart topper was wearing the restraint loosely anyway, but it wasn't enough to hold her down or keep her from smashing into the plastic overhang of her window seat.
'I had broken the plastic up in the roof above my head,' said Weitz, adding that the force was so great that she also has bruises on her hips from her seatbelt.
Her daughter, Elizabeth, who was sitting elsewhere in the plane, remained in her seat, but suffered whiplash and back pain.
One of the flight attendant carts tipped over her during the turbulence and covered her in food and liquids, she said.
5 Weitz suffered bruising from her seatbelt, seen her over an existing surgery scar.
Courtesy of Evan Oshan
The pair watched other passengers suffer more violent injuries, including one man who was fully lifted out of his seat.
The aircraft made an emergency landing Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, where 25 people were carted away to hospitals.
Weitz claims she was not seen by emergency services because the responders only paid attention to those who were 'bleeding.'
'They didn't seem ready to handle an incident like that at all. That was the most terrifying part, was watching the disarray,' the singer said. 'We're told they're trained to know what to do with emergencies like this and, wow … that was not the case.'
5 The ceiling sustained damage after some passengers were thrown into the air.
Courtesy of Evan Oshan
The dance music superstar fears that the incident will have lasting effects both physically and mentally — she's awaiting doctors to confirm her fears that she suffered a concussion, but is more concerned that her anxiety will prevent her from boarding planes in the future.
Weitz is currently in Amsterdam for a festival, but says she only made it overseas because of contract obligations: 'I'm not sure, cognitively, if I can remember my lyrics.'
Now, her legal team is calling for Delta to ground all Airbus A330-900 aircraft so a federal probe can investigate a string of malfunctions associated with the fleet.
'We believe this was a predictable and preventable occurrence,' said Evan Oshan of Oshan and Associates, who is working with Daily Jones Law Group as co-counsel.
5 Carts carrying food and drink spilled across the cabin, including some items that drenched Weitz's daughter.
Facebook / Ricardo Hoogesteger
Lawyers filed a formal complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration Friday, alleging that the fleet has a history of critical flight system malfunctions, a pattern of emergency landings and go-arounds, and more.
'They have to find out what was wrong with that plane and what happened, because no one should experience anything like this,' said Weitz.
The National Transportation Safety Board said its investigation was too preliminary to determine whether the aircraft had pre-existing defects.
Delta Air Lines would not provide new information, and the FAA did not respond to request for comment.