7 people injured after severe turbulence forces a United Airlines flight to make an emergency landing, officials say

By Andy Rose and Pete Muntean, CNN

(CNN) — Seven people were injured when “severe turbulence” rocked a United Airlines flight, forcing an emergency landing in Memphis, according to the airline and local emergency responders.

The Boeing 737 was en route from Cancún, Mexico, to Chicago on Wednesday when the flight experienced turbulence, United said.

The plane first reported the turbulence while flying over Louisiana, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

It marks the latest instance of turbulence disrupting a commercial flight in recent months, including a Singapore Airlines flight in May that saw one passenger killed and 71 people injured after encountering severe turbulence. Last week, two crew members on an EasyJet flight from Corfu, Greece, to London were injured when the plane experienced sudden turbulence, officials said. And last month 30 passengers were injured on an Air Europa flight from Madrid to Uruguay due to “strong turbulence,” the airline said.

“United flight 1196 diverted to Memphis this afternoon after encountering a brief period of severe turbulence while the seatbelt sign was on,” the airline said in a statement to CNN Wednesday. “Paramedics met the aircraft at the gate and transported one passenger to the hospital.”

The extent of that passenger’s injuries wasn’t known, the Memphis Fire Department said. Six others declined treatment.

There were 179 people on board, including seven crew members, according to United. After its stop in Memphis, the flight continued to O’Hare International Airport, where it arrived two hours late, according to aircraft tracking website FlightAware.

While injuries or deaths from turbulence are rare, it is the leading cause of injury to flight attendants and passengers in nonfatal accidents, according to the FAA. And a study by the University of Reading reported that severe turbulence had increased by 55% in the past four decades due to the impact of climate change.

The FAA said it is investigating the United Airlines incident.

CNN’s Ross Levitt and Jillian Sykes contributed to this report.

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