Three people taken to hospital after 'crazy' turbulence causes Delta plane to make emergency landing
Three people were taken to hospital after a Delta Air Lines flight experienced severe turbulence and had to make an emergency landing.
Flight 5763 was heading to Seattle from Santa Ana in California, when the turbulence struck at 34,000ft. The plane was diverted to Nevada.
One of those taken to hospital was a flight attendant. Another two passengers were injured but were not taken to hospital.
Passengers spoke about the plane taking a nose-dive twice because of the extreme conditions.
The turbulence was so bad that it caused a flight attendant’s drinks cart to flip over in the aisle, dislodging its shelves and contents, according passengers onboard.
One, Dave Macias, told Fox News: ‘We just saw the drink cart go up in the air. The flight attendant was tossed around like a rag doll. It was wild.’
Another, Joe Justice, posted a video on Twitter showing the aftermath of the ‘crazy turbulence’ but praised the actions of the crew.
‘Crazy turbulence and injuries, but the @delta crew handled it perfectly, even the emergency landing,’ said Justice on Twitter.
He added: ‘We did a nose dive, twice.’
Delta 5673 because of turbulence flight diverted to Reno today. Chaotic And scary but people showed up as their best selves. #Delta,#weatherchannel, #reno, #turbulancedivertsflight, pic.twitter.com/v8zvsk6hjK
— barbara belcher (@barbara08100912) February 14, 2019
There were 59 passengers and four crew on board the flight.
The turbulence came after forecasts of heavy storms in the vicinity of the plane’s flight path.
In a statement, Delta apologised for the incident.
‘We apologize for this experience as we get customers to Seattle,’ said Delta.
Another passenger, Barbara Belcher, said passengers were offered free pizza after the incident.