At least 24 people have been hospitalized after severe turbulence rocked a JetBlue plane Thursday evening.
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“People were flying out of their seat belts and hitting their head on the ceiling”, Rhonda Renee told CNN. A photo shared on Twitter showed a woman wearing a neck brace before disembarking.
“It was frightening for a moment but it was worrisome for the flight attendant who was injured”, said passenger Douglas Domingo-Foraste.
“People were floating”, recalled passenger Rhonda Lynam, according to ABC News. “It was dropping 25, 50 storeys, like an out of control elevator”.
Following the turbulence, the aircraft was diverted and forced to land in Rapid City, South Dakota at about 7.30 pm.
She said the seatbelt sign was on when turbulence rocked the plane. “It was bad. The lights went out in the cabin”, she said.
A replacement aircraft was en route to help the remaining passengers continue on to Sacramento, the airline added in a statement. A flight attended was assisted off the plane by medical personnel. Another plane was brought in to take the rest of the passengers to Sacramento.
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All 22 passengers and two crew members from Flight 429 who were sent to the hospital had minor injuries and have since been discharged, South Dakota’s KELO reported.
