Pittsburgh-bound flight diverted due to severe turbulence; 7 injured

PITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh-bound flight from Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic was diverted to Florida Thursday after severe turbulence caused numerous injuries aboard the aircraft, authorities in Florida told Channel 11 News.

Allegiant Air Flight 7001 made an emergency landing at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport around 3:43 p.m. after several injuries were reported, Mike Jachles, a spokesman for the Broward County Sheriff's Office, said. %

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Four flight attendants and three passengers were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, Jachles said. He said none of the injuries were life-threatening, with the most serious being a head injury that one of flight attendants suffered.

"We went up, down and up again. The flight attendant hit the top of the plane and then came back down. The woman catty-corner to me fell out of her seat. All of our drinks were up on the ceiling dripping,” passenger Mary Jane told Channel 11 News.

All of the flight attendants and passengers who were taken to the hospital have been treated and released, an Allegiant Air spokesperson said Friday afternoon.

Six crew members and 137 passengers were aboard the flight. According to an email from Allegiant Air, the flight was changed to 7001-2 and departed Fort Lauderdale at 8:30 p.m. While estimated to land in Pittsburgh at 10:29 p.m., the flight finally arrived just before 11 p.m.

One passenger aboard the flight told Channel 11 News that the turbulence started about an hour into the flight before the plane suddenly took a “nose dive.”

Passenger Malachi Witt, who spoke with Channel 11 News, said he and his wife refused to board the second flight, saying, “We’re not going to look death in the eyes twice in one day.”

However, Witt had high praise for the flight attendants on board.

“They weren’t worried about themselves or panicking or being afraid. They really did a great job of keeping their cool and taking care of everyone,” he said.

Witt and his wife, who are from Cleveland, said they’re now driving back home.

According to AeroInside, a website that tracks airline incidents and accidents, Thursday's incident was the second in the last year involving an Allegiant Air flight to Pittsburgh.

A crew in route to Pittsburgh in June stopped climbing shortly after leaving Saint Petersburg, Florida, because the cabin didn't pressurize properly, AeroInside reported.

A representative for the pilots union told Channel 11’s sister station, WJAX-TV, that due to safety concerns, 50 percent of pilots would not allow their families to fly Allegiant Air.

A report published in March by the Aviation Mechanics Coalition found 98 instances of “preventable maintenance issues” in a 5-month period.

To ensure that the airline is making improvements, the Federal Aviation Administration is auditing Allegiant Air two years ahead of schedule. The decision to do so was made before Thursday’s turbulent flight.

Cox Media Group