Seven Lufthansa passengers have been hospitalized after a Wednesday night flight from Texas to Germany experienced “severe turbulence” the German airline and the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed.
The FAA reported that Lufthansa
LHA,
Flight 469 was diverted to Dulles International Airport in Virginia and landed “without incident around 9:10 p.m. local time after the crew reported encountering severe turbulence at 37,000 feet altitude over Tennessee.”
Lufthansa described the turbulence as “brief but severe” in a statement to Fox Business. “Lufthansa regrets the inconvenience caused to passengers,” the statement continued. “The safety and well-being of passengers and crew members is Lufthansa’s top priority at all times.”
A spokesperson for Dulles International Airport told CNN that the Lufthansa passengers and crew endured turbulence 90-minutes into the flight. The seven injured passengers were transported to a hospital once they were safely on the ground, where a Lufthansa spokesperson said they were treated for “minor” injuries.
Video taken inside the aircraft after the terrifying turbulence ended show food, garbage and other debris scattered throughout the plane.
Last month, Lufthansa flights were disrupted globally by a technical failure, and many of its IT systems went down for a time — as did its stock, with shares dropping 1.1% as a result.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG is scheduled to report its fourth quarter results on Friday. Its shares are down almost 27% so far this year.
This post was originally published on Market Watch
