Severe Turbulence Rocks US Flight, Passengers Left With 'Broken Bones': Report

The turbulance was so severe on the flight that one attendant was thrown into the air and slammed back on to the floor of the plane.

Two passengers and two crew members were left with broken bones after severe turbulence rocked an Allegiant Airlines flight from North Carolina to Florida, as per a report in The Independent. The turbulance was so severe on the Allegiant Air Flight 227 that one flight attendant was thrown into the air and slammed back onto the floor of the plane, breaking her ankle.

A passenger who went to use the restroom before the turbulence  emerged with blood "gushing" from her head, people on board the flight told The Independent.

The airline said it "landed normally and taxied to the gate under its own power". The injured were taken to the hospital by medical personnel who were stationed at the airport gate. 

Lisa Spriggs, a passenger, recalling the ordeal, likened the bodies being flung around to a scene in the sci-fi movie "The Matrix".

"More than halfway through descending, and all of a sudden, we hit a small turbulence, and the stewardess beside us fell to the ground," she told CBS affiliate WTSP-TV. "She flew up in the air, like 'Matrix' is the only way that I can think to describe it, was there for half a second, and then landed straight down, broke her ankle," Spriggs further said.

According to The New York Times, Flight 227 was carrying 179 passengers. Six other passengers were also examined by medical personnel. 

The airline said that it had a discussion over the incident with the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Although, it was reported that no investigation is underway. 

There has been a rise in the number of violent turbulence incidents recently. In March 2023, several people travelling in a Lufthansa plane were injured. They were on their way from Austin, Texas, to Frankfurt, Germany, when the flight started shaking violently. The plane made an emergency landing as at least seven people were injured. A video shared by passengers showed a completely cluttered flight, with food trays, papers, and food thrown around. 

A recent study by UK scientists found that turbulence had increased by 55 per cent on the busy North Atlantic flight route between 1979 and 2020 and suggested that the climate crisis could be to blame.