1 of 2 Image taken on a Lufthansa flight that suffered severe turbulence in the United States shows trays on the ground, March 2, 2023. Seven people were hospitalized. — Photo: Ecaterina Fadhel/via AP The picture, taken on a Lufthansa flight that suffered severe turbulence in the United States, shows trays on the ground, March 2, 2023. Seven people were hospitalized. — Photo: Ecaterina Fadhel/via AP
A Lufthansa flight en route from Texas, United States to Frankfurt, Germany, fell more than 1,000 feet (about 305 meters) after a storm on Thursday (2). Seven people on the flight were injured and required hospitalization.
Flight 469 experienced “significant turbulence” and was diverted to Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia, according to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority spokesman Michael Cabbage.
The plane, an Airbus A330, reported severe turbulence at an altitude of 37,000 feet (about 11,300 meters) while flying over Tennessee, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. The agency is investigating.
Passenger Susan Zimmerman, 34, of Austin, Texas, said one of the pilots told the cockpit the plane had fallen about 1,000 feet during the sudden turbulence.
“It looked like the ground had fallen underneath,” she said in an interview with AP. “Everything was floating. For a moment you are weightless.”
The turbulence happened midway through meal service as passengers and crew moved around the cabin, said Zimmerman, who is five months pregnant. She said she was still buckled up and that neither she nor the baby were hurt.
“I’m sure she overslept it,” she said. “She’s surrounded by amniotic fluid.”
2 of 2 stewardesses assist passengers after severe turbulence caused a sudden crash on a Lufthansa flight departing Texas in the United States March 2, 2023. — Photo: Ecaterina Fadhel/via AP Stewardesses help passengers after severe turbulence caused a sudden crash on a Lufthansa flight departing Texas in the United States on March 2, 2023. — Photo: Ecaterina Fadhel/via AP
The brief but violent turbulence in the air occurred about 90 minutes after takeoff and led to the unscheduled precautionary landing, Lufthansa said in a statement.
The passengers received medical care. There were 172 passengers on board.
Turbulence remains a leading cause of inflight accidents and injuries, according to a 2021 report by the National Transportation Safety Board. Between 2009 and 2018, turbulence accounted for 37.6% of all accidents on major commercial airlines.
Turbulence is essentially unstable air that moves unpredictably.. Most people associate it with violent thunderstorms. But the most dangerous type is clear air turbulence, which can be difficult to predict and often gives no visible warning in the sky ahead.
Thunderstorms swept across areas of Tennessee late Wednesday, creating strong winds in the upper atmosphere, said Scott Unger, a senior weather forecaster with the National Weather Service in Nashville.
“There was a lot of wind in the air, which could easily create turbulence on any flight,” he said.