A Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam was forced to make an emergency landing in Minneapolis on Wednesday after severe turbulence injured 25 people on board.
Delta Flight DL56, an Airbus A330-900 carrying 275 customers and 13 crew members, encountered "significant turbulence" over Wyoming, according to the airline. Passengers and crew members who were not wearing their seat belts were reportedly thrown around the cabin, with beverage carts also hitting the ceiling. One passenger told ABC News, "They hit the ceiling, and then they fell to the ground... it was really scary."
The flight was diverted to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP), where it landed safely around 7:45 p.m. local time. Medical personnel and emergency responders met the aircraft on the tarmac, and 25 people were transported to local hospitals for evaluation and treatment. By Thursday morning, all seven crew members and all passengers who were hospitalized and willing to share their status with Delta had been released.
Delta Air Lines has stated that it is cooperating with an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The airline also arranged a special flight for Thursday evening to transport the passengers to Amsterdam to continue their journey.
This incident is one of several turbulence-related events reported this year, bringing renewed attention to aviation safety. Experts say that while serious injuries from turbulence are rare, they may become more frequent as climate change affects jet stream patterns. In May 2024, a man died on a Singapore Airlines flight after it encountered severe turbulence, marking the first turbulence-related death on a major airline in several decades.
