Eight passengers of a JetBlue flight from Ecuador to Fort Lauderdale in Florida were hospitalised after the plane was caught in a turbulence before landing int he US city, according to CBS News. The incident took place on Monday (September 25) whe the plane was caught in an "abrupt and severe turbulence", a JetBlue official told the outlet. The flight landed safely and medical personnel transported seven passengers and one crew member to a local hospital for medical attention and assessment.
The severity of the injuries is not known.
"JetBlue will work to support our customers and crew members," airline officials were quoted as saying by the outlet.
Authorities reported that the aircraft involved in the turbulence incident has been taken out of service for a thorough inspection.
On Monday afternoon, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced it is starting an investigation into the incident. "NTSB has launched an inquiry into today's turbulence event that occurred on JetBlue #1256, an Airbus A320, during cruise flight near Jamaica while en route from Guayaquil, Ecuador to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Multiple injuries were reported," the agency said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
This is the latest incident in which passengers sustained injuries due to severe turbulence encountered during their flights.
A month ago, 11 people were hospitalised after a Delta flight experienced severe turbulence while approaching Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Among those injured were passengers and crew members of Delta Flight 175.
In March, tragedy struck when a Bombardier CL30 jet, flying from Dillant-Hopkins Airport in New Hampshire to Leesburg Executive Airport in Virginia, encountered severe turbulence, resulting the death of one passanger, said the CBS News report. The flight had to divert to Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.
In another incident in March, multiple individuals were hospitalised after a Lufthansa flight from Austin to Frankfurt, Germany, encountered turbulence and had to make an emergency landing at Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
The next day, approximately 20 passengers and crew members aboard a Condor flight from Frankfurt to Mauritius sustained injuries due to turbulence.
