A Southwest flight made an emergency landing in Florida on Wednesday after encountering severe turbulence over the Gulf of Mexico, injuring two people on board.
Southwest Airlines told FOX Weather in a statement that Flight 4273 was diverted to Tampa International Wednesday morning due to turbulence.
According to Southwest, two people were injured and required medical treatment after landing.
According to data from Flightaware.com, the flight took off from New OrleansLouisiana, at 6:44 a.m. and was heading to Orlando International Airport.
The flight landed at Tampa International at 8:56 a.m.
“The captain declared an emergency, a requirement to deviate from a filed flight plan, and also requested that paramedics be available upon the aircraft’s arrival to assess any potential injuries.” Southwest said in the release.
“Two people were transported to a Tampa Bay area medical facility.”
Radar showed intense storms over the Gulf of Mexico about halfway into the flight from New Orleans. Florida and much of the East Coast experienced thunderstorms and severe weather throughout Wednesday as a cold front moved east.
FOX 8 New Orleans reported that a passenger and a flight attendant were the injured people.
Turbulence is a sudden change in airflow.
These irregular movements of the atmosphere create air currents that can jostle passengers on an airplane.
They can even be severe enough to throw a plane out of control.
Southwest said customers arrived in Orlando four and a half hours late.
“With our apologies for their delayed travel, there is no higher priority than the safest operation of each flight,” the airline said.
Once the plane was on the ground, it was examined by mechanics, according to Southwest.
New York Post
