Two Sent To Hospital After Southwest Flight Hits Turbulence

Image courtesy of David Transier

Passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight from Boston to Chicago endured a short, but bumpy trip on Tuesday morning that left passengers sick and two flight attendants hospitalized. 

The plane, en route to Chicago’s Midway Airport, had only been in the air for 10 minutes before turbulence forced the pilot to turn back to Boston, reports NBC Chicago.

Travelers say that shortly after taking off around 9: 20 p.m., the plane began to experience turbulence and the plane began to fall before “suddenly stopping.”

The jostling became so severe that some of the 133 passengers on board began to vomit or passed out. At that point, the pilot decided to turn around, and asked passengers with medical experience to assist their fellow travelers.

“I helped one of the flight attendants [then] went back to the seat,” a Chicago doctor tells NBC Chicago. “I think somebody yelled out. Another passenger got nauseous … Then they said they had to turn the plane around.”

A nurse on the flight says she assisted a girl who had passed out.

“There was about four to five people throwing up,” the woman recalls. “The other flight attendant fell into the side of a chair, hurt his arm, but he didn’t break it. It was pretty scary for everybody on the plane.”

Southwest Airlines says the plane was able to safely land in Boston and there were no serious injuries. Two flight attendants were transported to a local hospital to be treated, but their injuries were not specified.

Another crew was brought in and passengers boarded a second plane at around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Passengers Vomit, Pass Out After Chicago-Bound Plane Hits Severe Turbulence [NBC Chicago]

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