Four injured as Northwest jumbo jet hits turbulence near Narita

TOKYO - Four people were injured Friday when a Northwest Airlines jumbo jet hit air turbulence while approaching Tokyo's Narita airport on a flight from the western Pacific island of Saipan, officials said.
Two cabin attendants and two passengers, all female, were taken to hospital by ambulance for treatment after the plane made a "normal landing" while on emergency alert at 6:57 pm (0957 GMT), the transport ministry's office at Narita said.
The extent of their injuries was not immediately known.
The B747-200 plane was descending for landing when it hit turbulence over the Pacific 90 kilometers (56 miles) south of the international airport and 12 minutes before touchdown, the office said in a statement.
The jet was carrying 362 passengers and crew.
"The fuselage made a steep dive and rolled, sending a person falling over me," a young man told Japan Broadcasting Corp. "Then it rolled again and went up and down.

03/18/2005 13:20 GMT