25 passengers hospitalized after turbulence diverts Delta flight to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
Courtesy: WCCO via CBS News
A plane made an emergency landing at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Wednesday after dozens of passengers were injured by “significant” in-flight turbulence, according to the airline.
The airport says Delta Air Lines Flight 56 en route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam diverted to MSP, landing safely around 7:45 p.m.
The MSP Airport Fire Department and several paramedics responded at the gate, providing initial medical attention to passengers in need. Delta says 25 passengers were transported to local hospitals for evaluation and care.
Based on preliminary flight data, about 45 minutes into the flight the plane experienced fluctuations in altitude consistent with intense turbulence as it was flying over Wyoming, before changing course for MSP.
“We are grateful for the support of all emergency responders involved,” a spokesperson for Delta said. “Safety is our No. 1 value at Delta, and our Delta Care Team is working directly with customers to support their immediate needs.”
The aircraft, an Airbus A330-900, had 275 passengers and 13 crew members on board.
The Federal Aviation Administration says it will investigate the incident.
Leslie Woods was heading to Amsterdam to visit some friends when all of a sudden, she felt a drop and the drink cart went flying. She said the intermittent turbulence lasted for about a minute.
“There was a little girl across the aisle from me that was just terrified. She’s screaming ‘we’re going to die, we’re going to die, we’re going to die’ so I was trying to keep her calm, and I really thought we were going to die. It was that scary,” said Woods. “It was like an earthquake. It was just, the plane was shaking so hard and it would stop and it would start again, so it was kind of traumatizing.”
Woods said flight attendants told her that one of the crew members had broken ribs, and someone else had broken their leg. Woods suffered from whiplash, but said she feels lucky to be alive.
Joseph Carbone was also on the flight and said he had never felt anything like it.
“We’ve flown quite a bit. And, uh, this is nothing like we’ve ever felt before. This was insane. People were flying around, uh, everything that wasn’t nailed down was up in the air,” Carbone said.
He said there were three back-to-back turbulent incidents, each more severe than the last. A pilot told him there was a drop of more than 1,000 feet, and that he hadn’t seen turbulence that severe before.
