Lufthansa Flight Diverted After Turbulence, 7 Hospitalized

DULLES, Virginia — According to officials, a Lufthansa flight that experienced “significant turbulence” was diverted to Washington Dulles International Airport, and seven people on board were taken to area hospitals.

Flight 469 from Austin, Texas, was en route to Frankfurt, Germany, but landed safely in Virginia on Wednesday evening, according to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority spokesman Michael Cabbage.

Cabbage said that crews responded to the flight and took seven people with minor injuries to the hospital.

The Federal Aviation Administration says that when the Airbus A330 was flying over Tennessee at 37,000 feet (about 11,300 meters), it went through a lot of rough air. The agency is looking into it.

Passenger Susan Zimmerman, 34, of Austin, Texas, said one of the pilots told the cabin that the plane had dropped 1,000 feet (305 meters) during the incident, which occurred unexpectedly.

“It felt like the bottom just dropped out from underneath,” she explained over the phone. “Everything seemed to be floating up. You are weightless for a brief moment.”

The brief but severe turbulence occurred about 90 minutes after takeoff

According to Lufthansa, the brief but severe turbulence occurred about 90 minutes after takeoff, prompting the unscheduled landing as a precaution. The affected passengers were given medical attention after landing, and Lufthansa ground staff were working to rebook passengers, according to the airline.

“Passengers’ and crew members’ safety and well-being are Lufthansa’s top priority at all times,” the statement said.

According to a 2021 NTSB report, turbulence is still a major cause of accidents and injuries during flights. Between 2009 and 2018, turbulence accounted for 37.6% of all accidents on larger commercial airlines.

Turbulence is defined as unstable air that moves unpredictably. Most people associate it with severe thunderstorms. The most dangerous type, however, is clear-air turbulence, which can be difficult to predict and frequently occurs with no visible warning in the sky ahead.

Storms moved across Tennessee on Wednesday night, causing high winds in the upper atmosphere, according to Scott Unger, a senior forecaster with the National Weather Service in Nashville.

“It was very windy aloft, which could easily lead to turbulence with any flight,” he explained.

The turbulence happened during meal service, and passengers and crew were moving around the cabin, according to Zimmerman, who is five months pregnant. She claimed she was still wearing her seatbelt and that neither she nor her baby was hurt.

“I’m pretty sure she slept right through it,” she admitted. “She’s encased in amniotic fluid.”

SOURCE – (AP)