CNN
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Four people on a Florida-bound Allegiant Air flight were examined for injuries after the flight encountered severe turbulence Wednesday afternoon, the airline said.
Allegiant Air Flight 227which had taken off from Asheville, North Carolina, “experienced severe turbulence prior to landing” at St. Louis International Airport. Pete-Clearwater, airline spokesman Andrew Porrello said.
The plane, which was carrying 179 passengers and six crew members, “landed normally and taxied to the gate under its own power,” Porrello said.
Two passengers and two flight attendants were taken to a hospital for evaluation after airport paramedics assessed them for injuries, Porrello said, without describing the four’s injuries or conditions.
The injuries were believed to be relatively minor, said a spokesman for the St. Pete-Clearwater, Michele Routh, for CNN.
Lisa Spriggs, who was a passenger on the flight, said the turbulence was “petrifying”.
“More than halfway down the descent and all of a sudden we hit a little bit of turbulence and the flight attendant next to us fell to the ground,” Spriggs said. CNN affiliate WFTS.
“And then we hit major turbulence, which was petrifying. And she was literally like The Matrix. I saw it go up in the air and it just lands straight down,” Spriggs said.
The crew of the Airbus A320 reported turbulence as it approached the Florida airport around 3:45 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said. Neither the FAA — which said it would investigate the incident — nor Porrello provided additional details about what happened.
Allegiant will investigate the incident in coordination with the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board, Porrello said.