Turbulence aboard the Allegiant Air flight is leading to injuries, officials said

CNN
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Four people on an Allegiant Air flight to Florida were being examined for injuries after the plane encountered severe turbulence Wednesday afternoon, the airline said.

Allegiant Air Flight 227, which had taken off from Asheville, North Carolina, “experienced severe turbulence prior to landing” at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, airline spokesman Andrew Porrello said.

The plane, which was carrying 179 passengers and six crew members, “landed normally and taxied to the gate under its own power,” Porrello said.

Two passengers and two flight attendants were taken to a hospital for evaluation after airport paramedics assessed them for injuries, Porrello said, without elaborating on the injuries or conditions of the four.

The damage was believed to be relatively minor, spokeswoman for the St. Pete-Clearwater Airport, Michele Routh, told CNN.

Lisa Spriggs, who was a passenger on the plane, said the turbulence was “terrible”.

“More than halfway through the descent, and all of a sudden, we hit a little bit of turbulence, and the flight attendant next to us fell to the ground,” Spriggs told CNN affiliate WFTS.

“And then we hit a big turbulence, which was terrible. And she was literally like ‘The Matrix.’ Saw her go up in the air and just land right down,” Spriggs said.

The crew of the Airbus A320 reported turbulence while en route to the Florida airport around 3:45 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said. Neither the FAA — which said it would investigate the incident — nor Porrello released further details about what happened.

Allegiant will investigate the incident in coordination with the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board, Porrello said.