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Severe Turbulence on an American Airlines Flight Left 10 Injured

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At least 10 people were injured as a result of severe turbulence on an American Airlines flight from Greece to Philadelphia over the weekend.

As Flight 759 approached Philadelphia International Airport on Saturday, it encountered severe turbulence that injured seven crew members and three passengers, USA Today reports, though the fasten-seatbelt signs were illuminated at the time. The injured were transported to the hospital after the flight from Athens landed in Philadelphia.

“I was looking forward and I just saw everything just move upwards about four feet,” Alex Ehmke, a passenger, told NBC News. “The gentleman directly behind us and diagonally behind us hit the ceiling himself.”

ProPublica reporter Jessica Huseman was on the flight and tweeted about the severe turbulence passengers experienced on board. She said flight attendants had just handed out drinks, which subsequently drenched the plane as it lurched through the air.

Another passenger, Ervin Fang, who happens to be a physician, told NBC Philadelphia that he helped a flight attendant with a shoulder injury during the turbulence. He also described drinks on the ceiling and debris in the aisles in a series of tweets from onboard the aircraft.

There were a total of 44 injuries as a result of turbulence in 2016, according to the FAA.

 

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