ATLANTA (NewsNation) —Eleven people on a Delta Air Lines flight were taken to the hospital Tuesday after the plane hit turbulence while heading to Atlanta, officials said.
Flight 175 had left Milan, Italy, and was about 40 miles northeast of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport when the crew reported severe turbulence, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which said it would investigate.
The Airbus A350 landed safely at the airport shortly before 7 p.m.
Eleven passengers and crew members were taken to the hospital, Delta said. It didn’t provide details on their injuries or conditions.
Delta addressed the incident in a statement to NewsNation.
“Our priority is taking care of our customers and crew who sustained injuries. We are grateful for the first responders who met the aircraft to provide medical attention,” the statement read in part.
Despite the harrowing ordeal, serious injuries from airplane turbulence are rare.
Since 2009, 146 people have suffered “serious injuries” from turbulence on airplanes, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Last year, six people — one passenger and five crewmembers — suffered serious turbulence-related injuries, about one serious injury for every one million flights in 2021.
Over the past decade, no single year has seen more than 18 turbulence-related serious injuries. Data shows crewmembers are the most commonly injured, accounting for about 80% of those hurt in recent years.
NewsNation reporter Andrew Dorn and The Associated Press contributed to this report.