At least seven people have been injured after a United Airlines flight heading to Chicago experienced incredibly severe turbulence.
The plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Memphis after this event. This latest emergency comes as the airline industry has come under increasing fire for faulty plane parts, as well as for the sudden increase in severe turbulence seen around the world.
Injuries Reported After Flight
According to both United Airlines and local emergency responders, seven people became injured after experiencing severe turbulence on the plane.
The plane — a Boeing 737 — was coming from Cancún, Mexico, and heading to Chicago. However, the plane made an emergency landing in Memphis after this turbulence.
Passengers Hospitalized
United Airlines released a statement explaining this event — and that at least one passenger was quickly sent to the hospital.
“United flight 1196 diverted to Memphis this afternoon after encountering a brief period of severe turbulence while the seatbelt sign was on,” the airline said. “Paramedics met the aircraft at the gate and transported one passenger to the hospital.”
When the Severe Turbulence Occurred
As seen in this statement, this flight began to experience quite severe turbulence when the seatbelt light was on. Therefore, this may have helped some people from being injured.
Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has reported that this turbulence first occurred when the plane was flying over Louisiana.
Various Injuries
So far, the extent of these reported injuries is not yet known. It appears that all of those injured during this flight were passengers, rather than crew members.
While one person was sent to the hospital quickly, the other six injured passengers declined treatment.
The Flight Continued
This flight — which contained 179 passengers, including seven crew members — continued on with its journey after it stopped at Memphis for this emergency landing.
The flight eventually landed in Chicago at O’Hare International Airport, though it was two hours late.
An Investigation Is Underway
The FAA has already come out to report that they will be investigating this incident.
The FAA has investigated a variety of incidents recently, as various emergency landings and severe turbulence situations have seemingly become much more common.
Injuries From Turbulence Is Rare
Though it may seem like we’re seeing more people become injured while on planes, data has shown that injuries and deaths from severe turbulence are incredibly rare.
However, the FAA has also stated that turbulence is the leading cause of injury to both flight attendants and passengers when it comes to nonfatal accidents.
An Increase in Violent Turbulence
Meanwhile, other studies have recently been done that confirm that violent turbulence has become much more common in recent years.
According to one study, severe turbulence has increased by a whopping 55% in just the last four decades — and all because of climate change.
A Bad Year for Planes?
2024 has been a remarkable year for airlines and fliers alike. The year started off with a close call on a plane when a door plug blew off mid-flight.
Since this incident — where nobody was harmed — various other issues have arisen on plane flights around the world. Critics have pointed out that many Boeing planes seemingly have faulty parts, which have led to these near tragedies.
Seeing More Turbulence
Recently, many flights have reported experiencing more severe turbulence than ever before.
Unfortunately, these situations have occasionally ended in mass injuries and deaths. One Singapore Airlines flight earlier this year saw a passenger killed, while 71 others were injured.
Most Recent Turbulence Cases
These cases haven’t stopped, as this latest United Airlines situation can attest to.
Most recently, an EasyJet flight to London ended up injuring two crew members when they had sudden turbulence.
