Some Allegiant Air passengers, crew injured in turbulent Florida-bound flight
TAMPA - Four people on a Florida-bound Allegiant Air flight were being examined for injuries after the flight encountered severe turbulence Wednesday afternoon, the airline said.
Allegiant Air Flight 227, which had taken off from Asheville, North Carolina, "experienced severe turbulence before landing" at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, airline spokesperson Andrew Porrello said.
The plane, 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 injuries or the conditions of the four.
The injuries were believed to be relatively minor, St. Pete-Clearwater airport spokesperson Michele Routh told CNN.
Lisa Spriggs, who was a passenger on the flight, said the turbulence was "petrifying."
"More than halfway through descending, and all of a sudden, we hit a small turbulence, and the stewardess beside us fell to the ground," Spriggs said. "And then we hit a major turbulence, which was petrifying. And she was literally like 'Matrix.' Watched her go up in the air and just land straight down."
The crew of the Airbus A320 reported turbulence while on approach to 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 released further details about what happened.
Allegiant will investigate the incident in coordination with the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board, Porrello said.