‘Severe’ Turbulence on United Flight Forces Emergency Landing, Leaves 1 Hospitalized, 6 Injured
The flight from Cancun to Chicago was diverted to Memphis, where paramedics met the plane at the gateA passenger was sent to the hospital after a United Airlines flight from Cancun to Chicago was diverted due to extreme turbulence.
The airline confirmed to PEOPLE in a statement that United Flight 1196 landed in Memphis on Wednesday, Aug. 28, after encountering “a brief period of severe turbulence” while the seatbelt sign was on.
“Paramedics met the aircraft at the gate and transported one passenger to the hospital,” the statement added. “We’re grateful to our crew for their efforts to ensure the safety of our employees and customers.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane, a Boeing 737-900, landed “safely” at Memphis International Airport around 2:50 p.m., and that the turbulence occurred over Louisiana. The FAA is investigating the incident.The Memphis Fire Department told NBC News that when paramedics arrived at the gate, the passenger who was transported to the hospital was “in noncritical condition.”
The department also said that six other passengers “declined treatment and transportation to a hospital,” adding that “the extent of their injuries is unknown.”
PEOPLE reached out to the MFD, but did not immediately receive a response.
In July, extreme turbulence on an Air Europa flight from Spain to Uruguay left dozens of people injured and one man stuck in an overhead bin. It’s unclear how the man became lodged in the space.
Several passengers reported that people not wearing seatbelts were thrown from their seats unexpectedly by the rough air, hitting the cabin ceiling.According to Reuters, around 30 passengers were injured on the flight. Other reports put that number as high as 40.
“There are passengers with fractures and injuries to their arms, faces, and legs,” a passenger told the outlet. “It was a pretty horrible feeling. We thought we were going to die there.”
“From one moment to the next, the plane destabilized and went into a dive,” another traveler added.
Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves were on a trans-Atlantic flight that experienced extreme turbulence in March 2023.
“It’s suspended disbelief. I mean, it’s zero gravity,” explained McConaughey while recalling the experience in a preview clip of his upcoming appearance on the Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast shared by ET on Tuesday.
Alves, 41, had previously shared her recollection of the flight on Instagram, expressing that “the plane dropped almost 4000 feet.”
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