Latest news with #turbulence
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
'Significant' turbulence on a Delta flight leaves 25 passengers hospitalized: How to avoid getting injured when your plane experiences it
Experts explain how severe turbulence on flights can cause injuries — and how to minimize your risk. A Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam experienced "significant" turbulence on Wednesday and was forced to land in Minneapolis, where 25 passengers were taken to hospitals for treatment, the airline said. The plane, an Airbus A330-900 with 275 passengers and 13 crew members on board, was about two hours into its nine-hour flight when it was diverted to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, landing at 7:45 p.m. local time. Paramedics boarded the aircraft and 25 passengers were "transported to local hospitals for evaluation and care," Delta said in a statement. One passenger told ABC News that people who weren't wearing seat belts were thrown into the air. "They hit the ceiling, and then they fell to the ground," Leeann Nash said. "The carts also hit the ceiling and fell to the ground, and people were injured. It happened several times, so it was really scary." Recent studies have shown that air turbulence is on the rise, thanks in part to climate change. So too are reports of injuries due to severe turbulence. We asked doctors about what types of injuries they've been seeing — and how to avoid them. How can you get injured during turbulence? There are a few possibilities. "First, an unrestrained passenger may be thrown about by turbulence, leading to falls or head injuries," Dr. Ashley Panas, chief flight physician at Vanderbilt LifeFlight, tells Yahoo Life. "Second, unrestrained objects may strike passengers." A range of injuries can happen. "Injuries can be minor to severe, and while very uncommon, they can be fatal," Dr. Lewis Nelson, professor at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, tells Yahoo Life. "Concerning injuries occur when people are tossed around by unexpected, severe and rapid plane movements." The plane can suddenly jerk when moderate to severe turbulence hits, Dr. Erik Antonsen, associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine, tells Yahoo Life. "If passengers are standing in the aisle, they can lose their balance and fall, sometimes onto other passengers," he says. "Those in seats can experience whiplash-type injuries and can hit their heads against the window or seat backs. Flail injuries of the extremities can occur as arms and legs can get slammed against whatever hard surfaces are nearby." The most troubling injuries happen when people are thrown upward during turbulence, Nelson says. "Objects such as food carts, computers or luggage can also be set in motion and can cause injury, including burns from coffee," he says. What do turbulence injuries usually involve? It's a lot of head injuries, Dr. Russ Kino, emergency medicine physician at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., tells Yahoo Life. "The most common thing I've seen is mostly head lacerations," he says. "When people don't have their seatbelts on, their heads hit the plastic above them during turbulence. That plastic often breaks and there are a lot of lacerations. There's a lot of picking pieces of plastic from the scalp." Kino says he once treated passengers who hit rough turbulence while flying from Bali to Australia. "We had 100 people come to the ER, and they all had lacerations and pieces of plastic in the scalp." But passengers can also have blunt injuries to the torso or the arms and legs that lead to bone fractures, joint sprains, bleeding or internal organ injury, Nelson says. "The most concerning injuries occur when people are thrown upward relative to the plane during turbulence," he says. "Hitting the ceiling headfirst can lead to head injury or to an axial loading injury in which the spine is compressed and injured." If someone is severely injured during a flight, the pilot may be required to divert and land at a closer airport to get quick medical attention, Panas says. How to avoid getting hurt on a flight Kino stresses the importance of wearing your seatbelt — and not just when the crew announces there is turbulence ahead. "Every moment you can, you should just wear your seatbelt," he says. Dr. Christopher E. San Miguel, associate professor at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, agrees. "People are almost exclusively injured in turbulence events by falling or being thrown around the cabin," he tells Yahoo Life. "It can occur without warning, which is why it's important to remain buckled, even when the light is not illuminated." Antonsen also recommends limiting how often you're out of your seat. "Don't be up and moving about the cabin more than is necessary, and don't stand in the aisles for long periods," he says. "Many people fly frequently and some may tune out crew announcements, but the crew is your most important source of information that can help you avoid injury on flights. Be sure to listen when they are talking." Despite all of this, San Miguel stresses that turbulence injuries are relatively rare. "It is important to point out that the odds of being injured by turbulence on a commercial flight is quite low," he says. This article was originally published on Sept. 1, 2023 and has been updated.
Khaleej Times
10 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
25 injured by severe turbulence on Delta flight from Utah to Amsterdam
Twenty-five people were taken to hospital on Wednesday after a Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam was diverted to Minneapolis due to severe turbulence, the airline said in a statement. Flight DL56 was diverted to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport after experiencing "significant turbulence," Delta said. The plane was carrying 275 passengers and 13 crew, the New York Times reported, citing the airline. The Delta statement said medical personnel evaluated everyone on board after the A330-900 had landed safely in Minneapolis. "Twenty-five of those on board were transported to local hospitals for evaluation and care," it said, without elaborating. The aircraft encountered turbulence shortly after reaching 37,000 feet (11,277.6 m), briefly climbing to about 38,000 feet before descending to just below 35,800 feet. It later stabilised at an altitude of 37,000 feet, according to flight-tracking service Flightradar24.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
Severe turbulence on Delta flight forces emergency landing and sends more than two dozen on board to hospitals
Some passengers were terrified, convinced the plane was going down. One seasoned traveler said it was the roughest flight he'd ever taken. A woman on board felt like she was experiencing an earthquake. Severe turbulence struck a Delta flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam Wednesday, sending service carts and unbelted passengers into the air and forcing an emergency landing in Minnesota, where 25 people on board were taken to hospitals. Delta said flight DL56 landed safely at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport and was met by medical teams upon arrival. Video shows fire rescue vehicles waiting on the tarmac as the plane made its landing. When the turbulence hit, Joseph Carbone grabbed his wife's hand and braced for the worst. 'I truly thought the plane was going to go down,' the passenger told CNN. As items flew into the air and passengers around him screamed, Carbone watched as a 'flight attendant just about crashed into the ceiling.' The flight likely hit severe turbulence over an area of southwestern Wyoming that had been identified as a potential trouble spot by federal aviation forecasters earlier in the day. Twenty-five on board the flight were taken to area hospitals 'for evaluation and care,' Delta said in a statement. All crew members and those passengers 'willing to share their status' had been released as of noon Thursday, Delta said. 'All seven crew members who were taken to area hospitals after the flight landed were treated and released by Thursday morning. All customers who were evaluated at the hospital and willing to share their status with Delta have also been released,' the airline said. The plane was carrying 275 customers and 13 crew members, according to Delta. It's unclear whether all passengers taken to area hospitals have been released. The health systems HealthPartners and Allina Health told CNN Thursday morning that they were assessing and treating passengers from the flight. 'The overwhelming majority of the folks taken to the hospital for evaluation and treatment have been released,' a Delta spokesperson told CNN earlier Thursday morning. 'We kissed the ground' after getting off plane Carbone said the turbulence hit in three waves: 'bad, to worse and way worse.' The pilot apologized over the intercom, explaining that they were flying above an altitude where most storms hit and the turbulence was unexpected, Carbone said. 'After we got off the plane, we kissed the ground, and Delta took us to the Delta Lounge and got us hotels and rebooked our flights,' he said. Another passenger, William Webster, told CNN he takes about 80 flights a year, but what he experienced on board was 'the craziest turbulence I've ever seen in my life.' 'I felt the centrifugal force. I was off my seat for like 30 seconds with the turbulence,' he said. People were screaming as phones and other items were thrown into the air, Webster said. 'I watched a wine cart just get thrown into the air,' he said, noting that with his seatbelt on, he was able to grab his phone and an empty champagne glass to keep them from flying away. Webster said he was not injured. Another passenger, Leslie Woods, said the turbulence felt like an earthquake. 'There was a little girl across the aisle from me that was just terrified,' Woods told CNN affiliate WCCO. '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.' Ricardo Hoogesteger was headed back home on the flight to Amsterdam when he experienced 'severe turbulence, losing altitude, feeling weightless multiple times, flying carts and getting completely soaked during the flight,' he told CNN. Bottles, cups, and other items from a serving cart were thrown on the seats and floor – and Hoogesteger's clothes, which he said were drenched with a mix of coffee, orange juice and wine. Hoogesteger commended Delta staff for helping passengers through the bumpy ride. A couple on the flight told ABC News that dinner service had just started when the turbulence hit. 'If you didn't have your seat belt on, everyone that didn't, they hit the ceiling and then they fell to the ground, and the carts also hit the ceiling and fell to the ground and people were injured,' Leeann Clement-Nash told ABC News. 'And it happened several times, so it was really scary,' Clement-Nash added. The plane landed around 7:25 p.m. local time, a spokesperson for the airport told CNN, confirming the flight was diverted 'due to reported in-flight turbulence that caused injuries on board.' The Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport Fire Department and paramedics met the plane at the gate and provided 'initial medical attention to passengers in need,' before some were taken to hospitals, the airport spokesperson said. 'We are grateful for the support of all emergency responders involved,' Delta said. Aviation forecasters warned of thunderstorms A Salt Lake City branch of the National Weather Service's aviation unit warned of thunderstorm potential Wednesday, noting that severe weather was possible across Wyoming. An aviation weather advisory for significant meteorological hazards, known as a SIGMET, was in effect when the turbulence occurred over southern Wyoming. The advisories alert pilots to severe weather events like thunderstorms or strong turbulence. Thunderstorms were developing in much of Wyoming Wednesday evening and some in the southwestern part of the state had grown to 35,000 to 40,000 feet tall when the aircraft experienced turbulence, according to a CNN analysis of archived weather radar data. The aircraft was at about 35,000 feet when it experienced the severe turbulence, according to a CNN analysis of flight data. Rising and falling air within thunderstorms is very turbulent and can be extremely dangerous to aircraft. Aviation authorities investigate According to data from flight tracking site Flightradar24, the flight climbed by more than 1,000 feet in less than 30 seconds roughly 40 minutes after its departure. It then descended approximately 1,350 feet over the next 30 seconds. Soon after, the plane altered its course in the direction of Minneapolis-St. Paul, where it landed safely about an hour and a half later, the data shows. The National Transportation Safety Board told CNN it is investigating and expects a preliminary report to be ready in about a month. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the plane landed safely in St. Paul after the crew reported 'severe' turbulence. The agency said it will investigate. The FAA says turbulence is normal and happens often, but it can sometimes be dangerous, especially for those not wearing seat belts. Last year, seven people were injured when severe turbulence rocked a United Airlines flight from Cancún to Chicago, forcing an emergency landing in Memphis, Tennessee. Five people were taken to the hospital last month, after severe turbulence hit an American Airlines flight from Miami to Raleigh, North Carolina. And in March, several flights were diverted to Waco, Texas, due to turbulence on their routes, and five passengers were taken to the hospital. In 2024, 23 people – 20 of whom were crew members – were seriously injured in turbulence events, according to FAA data. This story has been updated with additional information. CNN's David Williams, Brynn Gingras, Sara Smart and Sara Finch contributed to this report.
Daily Mail
17 hours ago
- Daily Mail
I'm a pilot. This is the REAL terrifying reason the skies are now so dangerously turbulent... and airlines aren't doing enough to keep you safe
Veteran British Airways pilot Alastair Rosenschein remembers his most harrowing brush with turbulence as if it happened yesterday. It was 1988, and he was flying a Boeing 747 packed with 400 passengers from London to Nairobi when the aircraft was violently jolted as it passed over the mountains of northeastern Italy.
CTV News
18 hours ago
- CTV News
Turbulence forces Delta flight to land and sends 25 passengers to hospitals
Serious turbulence on a Delta Airlines flight headed to Europe sent 25 people to hospitals and forced the plane into an emergency landing in Minneapolis, the airline said. Some aboard the flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam weren't wearing seat belts and were thrown about the cabin, one passenger said. 'They hit the ceiling, and then they fell to the ground,' Leann Clement-Nash told ABC News. 'And the carts also hit the ceiling and fell to the ground and people were injured. It happened several times, so it was really scary.' The Airbus A330-900 was carrying 275 customers and a 13-member crew Wednesday evening. The airport fire department and paramedics met the flight and took the 25 people to hospitals for evaluation and treatment, the airline said. Serious injuries from in-flight turbulence are rare, but scientists say they may be becoming more common as climate change alters the jet stream. Several turbulence-impacted flights have been reported this yea and raised awareness about aviation safety. In January, a midair collision over Washington, D.C., killed 67 people. A plane flipped over as it crashed in Toronto in March. Last weekend, passengers slid down an emergency slide to flee a smoking jet at Denver International Airport. Delta said Thursday that seven of the crew members from the Wednesday flight were treated at hospitals and released. The airline also said some passengers were treated and released, but didn't provide an exact number. It said customers could continue their trip on a special Thursday evening flight from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to Amsterdam. Delta also said it is cooperating with a National Transportation Safety Board investigation. In June, Five people were taken to a North Carolina hospital for evaluation after an American Airlines flight from Miami hit turbulence on its way to Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The plane landed safely. Earlier that month, severe storms in southern Germany forced a Ryanair flight to make an emergency landing after violent turbulence injured nine people on board, German police said. The flight was traveling from Berlin to Milan with 179 passengers and six crew members. Eight passengers and one crew member were hurt. A United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Singapore experienced severe turbulence in March. At the time, the plane carrying 174 passengers and 14 crew members was flying over the Philippines. Five people were injured and the plane landed safely in Singapore. Several flights were diverted to Waco, Texas, on March 3, because of turbulence. Five people were injured aboard a United Express flight from Springfield, Missouri, to Houston. A man was killed when a Singapore Airlines flight hit severe turbulence in May 2024, the first person to die from turbulence on a major airline in several decades. By Kathy Mccormack.
