'They hit the ceiling': Delta flight forced to land after turbulence injures 25 people
A Delta Air Lines flight flying on Wednesday evening from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam was forced into an emergency landing after it encountered significant turbulence that injured 25 people on board.
The Airbus A330-900 landed safely at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, where it was met by the airport fire department and paramedics. Initial medical attention was provided to passengers and crew, and some people were taken to area hospitals.
“We are grateful for the support of all emergency responders involved,” Delta said in a statement released on Wednesday night. “Safety is our No. 1 value at Delta, and our Delta Care Team is working directly with customers to support their immediate needs.”
Passengers who weren’t wearing seat belts at the time were thrown about the cabin, according to the Associated Press.
“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 overwhelming majority of the folks taken to the hospital for evaluation and treatment have been released,” a Delta spokesperson told CNN Thursday morning.
One passenger, William Webster, told CNN it 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.”
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, adding he was wearing his seatbelt and was able to grab his phone and an empty glass before they flew into the air.
Turbulence is constituted by unstable air movements caused by changes in wind speed and direction. That includes jet streams, thunderstorms, and cold or warm weather fronts. The severity can vary widely resulting in minor or dramatic changes in altitude. It can even occur in placid skies, where it can be invisible to the naked eye and weather radar.
Serious injuries from in-flight turbulence are rare, says the Associated Press, but scientists say they may be becoming more common as climate change alters the jet stream.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, between 2009 and 2022, 163 people were sufficiently injured by turbulence that they required hospital treatment for at least two days. Most were flight attendants, who are at higher risk due to moving around the cabin during flights.
In May 2024, a passenger on a Singapore Airlines flight was killed , marking the first turbulence-related death in several years. The Boeing 777-300 dropped 6,000 feet in about three minutes after it hit heavy turbulence over the Indian Ocean.
The NTSB is investigating what happened aboard the Delta flight and will provide a preliminary report in several weeks.
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