Delta flight diverted to Minneapolis after severe turbulence, leaving 25 people on board hospitalized
Delta passengers say re-routed flight dropped 1,000 feet, flight attendants 'hit the ceiling' amid severe turbulence
Delta flight plummets 1,000 feet, 25 injured in severe turbulence
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy joins 'America's Newsroom' to weigh in after extreme turbulence forced a Delta Airlines flight to divert to Minneapolis and as NTSB hearings begin on the deadly Washington, DC crash from January.
Delta Air Lines said 25 people were transported to local hospitals Wednesday when one of its flights from Salt Lake City experienced severe turbulence and rerouted to Minneapolis.
Delta flight DL56 was carrying 275 passengers and 13 crew members from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam when it was forced to divert to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport after the flight "encountered significant turbulence while en route," the airline said in a statement.
One passenger, who requested to remain anonymous, told FOX 13 Salt Lake City that one bought of turbulence sent flight attendants flying when they were in the aisle with beverage carts.
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A photo obtained by KTSU shows the interior of Delta flight DL56 after extreme turbulence forced the plane to reroute to Minneapolis. (Getty Images/ KTSU)
"Every one of them flew and hit the ceiling, the beverage carts also flew into the air," the passenger reportedly said. "Any items that were loose in the cabin got thrown everywhere. [The] plane is a mess, covered in liquids and service items."
One photo obtained by the outlet showed food trays, cups and other items strewn about the floor of the flight attendants' galley area.
Another passenger, Joseph Carbone, told FOX 13 that he felt the turbulence strike in three waves, "and each one got worse" and people started screaming. After the plane landed, Carbone, who was traveling to Kenya through Amsterdam, claimed that he spoke with the pilot, who told him the plane had dropped about 1,000 feet at one point. The airline has not confirmed that detail.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Fox News that a "full-scale review" was underway to evaluate whether the weather could have been spotted in advance.
A Delta Air Lines flight rerouted to Minneapolis after severe turbulence. (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"Anyone who flies knows that we delay flights, cancel flights when weather happens. That didn’t happen here, and so we are doing a full-scale review right now to see what went wrong because again, this kind of turbulence is incredibly dangerous, and we don’t want the flying public to go through it," Duffy said.
"What we find out, we are going to remedy," he added. "We are going to get to the bottom of it."
Duffy cautioned passengers to keep their seatbelts on at all times unless using the lavatory, because "accidents can happen, things can happen and seatbelts truly do make flying safer."
The flight was diverted to Minneapolis at 6:43 p.m. and landed safely around 7:45 p.m., according to Flight Aware.
Severe turbulence aboard a Delta flight reportedly sent flight attendants flying. (Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"The aircraft, an Airbus A330-900, landed safely at MSP, and medical personnel met the flight upon arrival to evaluate customers and crew," the airline said in a statement.
"Twenty-five of those on board were transported to local hospitals for evaluation and care," the statement continued. "We are grateful for the support of all emergency responders involved."
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The airline added that "safety is our No. 1 value at Delta, and our Delta Care Team is working directly with customers to support their immediate needs."
The conditions of the people injured in the incident were not disclosed.