Passenger, flight attendant injured during severe turbulence on Southwest flight
On April 3, 2024, a Southwest jet had to make an emergency landing at Tampa International Airport because of severe turbulence. A Southwest Airlines jet is seen at La Guardia Airport in New York in January 2024. (Credit: Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images/FILE via CNN Newsource)
(CNN) — Two people were injured when a Southwest Airlines flight encountered severe turbulence on Wednesday morning and had to make an emergency landing in Tampa, Florida, according to a spokesperson for Tampa International Airport.
Southwest Flight 4273 was traveling from New Orleans to Orlando when the captain declared an emergency after experiencing turbulence aboard the Boeing 737 jet, the airline said in a statement.
“The Captain declared an emergency, a requirement to deviate from a filed flight plan, and also requested that paramedics be available when the aircraft arrived to assess any potential injury,” the statement said.
A passenger and a flight attendant were transported to a Tampa area medical facility, the airline added.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident, a spokesperson told CNN.
After recent turbulence-related injuries on flights, AccuWeather’s Emmy Victor looks at what causes turbulence and how passengers can stay safe while traveling.
According to CNN Weather, storms that brought severe weather from the Ohio Valley to the Deep South on Tuesday were draped over the Gulf of Mexico this morning, causing strong thunderstorms in the area.
CNN’s Taylor Ward contributed to this report.
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