A Delta Air Lines plane lands at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport on Friday, March 28, 2025.
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
We’re following a developing story out of Minneapolis, where a Delta Air Lines flight was diverted so 25 people could be treated for injuries due to severe turbulence that the Airbus A330-900 encountered midflight.
Here’s what we know so far:
– Flight 56 was heading from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam when it hit the turbulence and was forced to make an emergency landing at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport at around 7:25 p.m. local time, according to CNN.
– There were 275 passengers and 13 crew aboard the flight.
– Flight data showed the plane suddenly and rapidly climbed more than 1,000 feet about 40 minutes after taking off, and then dropped significantly for the 30 seconds that followed. Yesterday’s radar showed storms over the Rockies in the late afternoon and evening, as well as over parts of the Plains.
– “They hit the ceiling, and then they fell to the ground,” Leann Clement-Nash told ABC News, speaking about passengers who were not buckled up during the turbulence. “And the carts also hit the ceiling and fell to the ground and people were injured. It happened several times, so it was really scary.”
– “Twenty-five of those on board were transported to local hospitals for evaluation and care,” Delta said in a statement. “We are grateful for the support of all emergency responders involved.”
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Serious injuries from in-flight turbulence are rare, but scientists say they may be becoming more common as climate change alters the jet stream.
A man was killed when a Singapore Airlines flight hit severe turbulence in May 2024, the first person to die from turbulence on a major airline in several decades.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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