American Airlines Flight 759 Terror: 10 Passengers Hospitalized Following Severe Turbulence
At least 10 people were hospitalized after American Airlines Flight 759 experienced "severe turbulence" en route to Philadelphia. The plane was carrying 287 passengers and a dozen crew members, all of whom safely landed at Philadelphia International Airport.
The flight was traveling to the United States from Athens, Greece and was already on the final leg of the journey. The flight crew had just finished delivering the last drinks service before the aircraft shook and began losing altitude.
The pilots told everyone in the cabin to fasten their seatbelts. However, before the flight attendants could make it to their seats,
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Ian Smith, a passenger on American Airlines Flight 759, spoke with ABC 6 about the events of the flight. Smith said they were 30 minutes out when the flight crew began serving drinks. The crew was serving the last couple of rows when the pilots told everyone in the cabin to fasten their seatbelts.
The flight crew had yet to reach their seats when the plane began shaking. The plane lurched causing the passengers' drinks to fly and hit the ceiling. Babies were screaming during the ordeal with people in front of Smith hitting the ceiling.
The plane touched down at the airport at 3:10 p.m. EDT, 30 minutes ahead of schedule. Passengers took to social media to recount the experience as soon as they landed. The injured passengers were immediately taken to the hospital for evaluation. So far, no word has been released regarding their injuries.
American Airlines has already issued a statement following the event, saying, "We are taking care of our passengers and our crew members at this time and want to thank our team members for keeping our passengers safe."
Despite the frightening experience, the turbulence experienced by American Airlines Flight 759 is quite rare and air travel still remains the fastest and safest form of transportation.
