Passengers, crew, and beverage carts were thrown around a Delta Air Lines jet when the flight encountered severe turbulence in July, according to a new report by federal investigators.
The preliminary report on the incident, which was released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Tuesday, says that the pilots hadn’t been expecting turbulence, so they turned off the fasten seatbelt sign. Shortly after, flight attendants who were beginning drink service and several passengers who had left their seats were then thrown into the ceiling and then hit the floor of the plane.
Delta flight 50 took off from Salt Lake City on July 30 and was headed for Amsterdam when the turbulence incident occurred over Creston, Wyoming, at a cruising altitude of 37,000 feet. Shortly after encountering the severe turbulence, the Airbus A330 jet rapidly dropped 2,500 feet in about 20 seconds, which caused passengers to feel 1.75 G-forces—strong motion equal to almost two times the force of gravity that sent unsecured people and objects flying around the cabin. The plane’s left wing was also rolled down by an angle of 40 degrees. The incident lasted for about 2.5 minutes.
According to the report, the flight crew had noticed “some weather buildups” ahead as the plane climbed to its cruising altitude and requested a new flight path from air traffic controllers. Shortly after the plane entered the new flight path, the severe turbulence occurred. The report shows that National Weather Service radar images at the time showed red clouds over Creston, Wyoming, indicating severe weather in the area.
After the incident, the plane was diverted to Minneapolis. Upon landing, 24 passengers were evaluated for injuries by emergency medical responders, and 18 were taken to hospitals for further assessment. Two of the flight’s crew members were seriously injured and five sustained minor injuries. There were a total of 246 passengers and 10 crew members on board.
Experts say that severe turbulence aboard passenger planes is happening more frequently due to climate change altering weather patterns around the globe. In addition to the Delta incident, multiple flights hit rough turbulence over the summer that left passengers injured, including on an American Airlines flight from Miami and a Ryanair flight in Germany.
The NTSB’s report is a preliminary release, and the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
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