The turbulence hurt 25 passengers on the delta flight, forces the plane to land

A Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam was hit by serious turbulence, sending 25 passengers in hospitals and forcing the flight to turn to Minneapolis-St. Paul’s international airport said the airline.

The Airbus A330-900, which can accommodate more than 250 people, landed around 7:45 p.m. Wednesday. The airport fire service and paramedical paramedics met the flight. The 25 passengers were taken to hospitals for evaluation and treatment, said the airline.

A passenger said that people who did not wear security belts were thrown into the cabin.

“They hit the ceiling, then fell on the ground,” Leann Clement-Nash told ABC News. “And the carts also hit the ceiling and fell on the ground and people were injured. It happened several times, so it was really scary.”

Delta said in a press release: “We are grateful for the support of all the emergency stakeholders involved.”

The serious injuries of flight turbulence are rare, but scientists say they may become more common because climate change changes the Jet Stream.

A man was killed when a Singapore Airlines flight struck serious turbulence in May 2024, the first person to die of turbulence on a large airline in several decades.