Several Passengers Injured as United Airlines Flight Diverted Due to Turbulence

by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:40 AM ET, Thu August 29, 2024

United Airlines Flights 1196 was diverted from Cancun International Airport to Memphis International Airport on Wednesday, August 28, after experiencing severe turbulence over Louisiana.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration’s comment on the incident, the administration is investigating the cause of the severe turbulence. The Boeing 737-900 was originally headed to Chicago O’Hare International Airport when it landed at Memphis at 2:50 p.m. CT.

ABC News reported that the airline put out a statement that the turbulence led to seven injured individuals out of the 172 passengers and seven crew members, including one person that was sent to a local hospital with non-critical injuries. The seatbelt sign was on during the turbulence.

"We're grateful to our crew for their efforts to ensure the safety of our employees and customers," said the United Airlines statement.

The National Weather Service defines turbulence as “an irregular motion of the air resulting from eddies and vertical currents. It may be as insignificant as a few annoying bumps or severe enough to momentarily throw an airplane out of control or to cause structural damage.”

Severe turbulence is classified as strong enough to cause large changes in altitude or attitude, as well as large variations in airspeed. It may also be severe enough for the aircraft to be out of control for a short period of time. With this type of turbulence, walking about the cabin and food service are interrupted, free items may move around or lose their places and people may be jolted in their seats.

The easiest way to ensure you’re protected on an aircraft experiencing turbulence of any kind is to remain buckled into your seat even while the seatbelt sign is off and to limit the time you spend walking around the cabin.

For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.