United Airlines flight diverted after 30 injured in turbulence
Source: Agencies |
July 22, 2010, Thursday
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A UNITED Airlines jetliner was diverted to Denver after 30 people onboard were injured, one critically, when the plane hit heavy turbulence while flying over Kansas, the US Federal Aviation Administration said.
The flight originated in Washington, DC, and was headed to Los Angeles. It landed safely at Denver International Airport around 7:45pm on Tuesday, and was met by medical crews, Denver Fire Department spokesman Eric Tade said.
FAA spokesman Ian Gregor in Los Angeles said 26 passengers and four crew members were injured. He said one person was critically hurt.
Many of the injured were transported to a handful of area hospitals with moderate injuries. By late Tuesday, some had been released or were expected to be released.
"There are mostly walking injuries," Tade told The Denver Post. He said the injuries included bruises, whiplash, strains and sprains.
Flight 967 was carrying 255 passengers and 10 crew members. It was flying over Kansas at an altitude of about 10,360 meters when it hit the heavy turbulence, said FAA spokesman Mike Fergus in Seattle.
The turbulence was "just a huge up and down," said passenger Kaoma Bechaz, a 19-year-old Australian in the United States to visit her boyfriend.
Bechaz told the Post that the head of the woman sitting next to her hit the side of the cabin, leaving a crack above the window, and a girl across the aisle flew into the air and hit the ceiling.
Bechaz said she wasn't thrown around because of her seat belt.
United Airlines spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said the crew decided to play it safe and land the Boeing 777 in Denver to tend to the injured.
United was working to find flights for the uninjured passengers on Tuesday night. Airline spokesman Michael Trevino told the Post that a special United flight took off for Los Angeles at 9:30pm carrying many passengers from the diverted flight.
Meanwhile, Gregor said there was "no obvious damage" to the diverted plane's exterior. Inspectors also found nothing wrong during a preliminary look at the plane's interior, Fergus said. But they and the National Transportation Safety Board would be looking more closely, he said, adding the incident would be a "front-burner item" for both agencies.
It wasn't the first time this year that United Airlines has encountered heavy turbulence.
In February, about 20 people were injured when a United flight experienced turbulence halfway through a 13-hour trip from Washington, DC, to Tokyo. The Boeing 747 had 263 people on board.
In May, 10 people suffered injuries, including broken bones, on a United flight that hit severe turbulence over the Atlantic Ocean on its way from London to Los Angeles. The Boeing 777 was diverted to Montreal.
The flight originated in Washington, DC, and was headed to Los Angeles. It landed safely at Denver International Airport around 7:45pm on Tuesday, and was met by medical crews, Denver Fire Department spokesman Eric Tade said.
FAA spokesman Ian Gregor in Los Angeles said 26 passengers and four crew members were injured. He said one person was critically hurt.
Many of the injured were transported to a handful of area hospitals with moderate injuries. By late Tuesday, some had been released or were expected to be released.
"There are mostly walking injuries," Tade told The Denver Post. He said the injuries included bruises, whiplash, strains and sprains.
Flight 967 was carrying 255 passengers and 10 crew members. It was flying over Kansas at an altitude of about 10,360 meters when it hit the heavy turbulence, said FAA spokesman Mike Fergus in Seattle.
The turbulence was "just a huge up and down," said passenger Kaoma Bechaz, a 19-year-old Australian in the United States to visit her boyfriend.
Bechaz told the Post that the head of the woman sitting next to her hit the side of the cabin, leaving a crack above the window, and a girl across the aisle flew into the air and hit the ceiling.
Bechaz said she wasn't thrown around because of her seat belt.
United Airlines spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said the crew decided to play it safe and land the Boeing 777 in Denver to tend to the injured.
United was working to find flights for the uninjured passengers on Tuesday night. Airline spokesman Michael Trevino told the Post that a special United flight took off for Los Angeles at 9:30pm carrying many passengers from the diverted flight.
Meanwhile, Gregor said there was "no obvious damage" to the diverted plane's exterior. Inspectors also found nothing wrong during a preliminary look at the plane's interior, Fergus said. But they and the National Transportation Safety Board would be looking more closely, he said, adding the incident would be a "front-burner item" for both agencies.
It wasn't the first time this year that United Airlines has encountered heavy turbulence.
In February, about 20 people were injured when a United flight experienced turbulence halfway through a 13-hour trip from Washington, DC, to Tokyo. The Boeing 747 had 263 people on board.
In May, 10 people suffered injuries, including broken bones, on a United flight that hit severe turbulence over the Atlantic Ocean on its way from London to Los Angeles. The Boeing 777 was diverted to Montreal.
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