A flight attendant suffered a suspected broken hip and elbow after ‘severe’ turbulence rocked a Southwest Airlines flight from New Orleans to Orlando on April 3.
The Boeing 737-700 was passing over the Gulf of Mexico close to Tampa and had started its initial descent when the plane encountered turbulence, which also injured a passenger, leaving them with reported back problems.
The pilots of flight WN-4273 declared an emergency and decided to divert the plane to Tampa, where the plane landed safely at around 9:20 am. The injured flight attendant and passenger were transported to the hospital.
In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration said the agency would be investigating after the pilots reported severe turbulence.
Following the diversion to Tampa, the passengers were put on a new plane around five hours later to complete the short flight to Orlando. The original aircraft remained on the ground until the evening and was later deployed on a flight to St Louis.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Southwest Airlines told us: “Southwest Flight 4273 diverted safely to Tampa Bay International Airport on April 3 after encountering turbulence while flying from New Orleans to Orlando. The Captain declared an emergency and requested that paramedics meet the airplane at the gate. Two people were transported to a Tampa Bay area medical facility.”
“The flight continued to Orlando after four-and-a-half hours behind schedule. We worked with Customers whose travel was affected by the late arrival. We apologize for the inconvenience, but our priority is always the Safety of our Customers and Employees.”
On April 1, a Japan Airlines flight attendant suffered a broken leg after a flight from Melbourne, Australia, to Tokyo Narita encountered what Japan’s Transport Safety Board described as a “disturbance”.
Two other crew members sustained minor injuries.
How does a passenger sustain injuries if they are buckled in for a landing?