Severe turbulence hits Lufthansa flight from Austin to Frankfurt, seven passengers hospitalised

On 1 March, a Lufthansa Airbus A330-300 (registered D-AIKK) operated flight LH469 between Austin, Texas, United States, and Frankfurt, Germany. While flying east of Pittsburgh at 37,000 feet, the aircraft encountered severe turbulence. 

Several passengers got injured, forcing the pilots to divert to Washington IAD.

Passenger Susan Zimmerman, 34, of Austin, Texas, said one of the pilots told the cabin that the plane had fallen about 1,000 feet (about 305 metres) during the sudden turbulence. She uploaded a video on social media (see below).

In total, seven passengers were hospitalised. “The brief but severe clear-air turbulence about 90 minutes after takeoff led to the unscheduled landing as a precaution,” Lufthansa said, adding that “the safety and well-being of passengers and crew members is Lufthansa’s top priority at all times.”

Turbulence continues to be a major cause of accidents and injuries during flight, according to a 2021 National Transportation Safety Board report. Turbulence accounted for 37.6% of all accidents on larger commercial airlines between 2009 and 2018.