By The newspaper
Mar 30, 2024, 00:55 AM EDT
Several people had to be hospitalized after a United Airlines flight headed to Newark, New Jersey, was diverted yesterday to an airport in New York’s Orange County due to turbulence and was already running out of fuel.
About 320 passengers and crew members were aboard United Airlines Flight 85 from Tel Aviv to Newark when it was diverted to Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, 70 miles north of NYC, around 6:45 p.m. Friday due to “strong winds and turbulence,” according to officials.
The plane had been cleared to land in Newark after its 11-hour flight from Israel, but the pilots turned around when they were about 750 feet above the ground due to high winds. With little fuel, they diverted to Newburgh where paramedics met the flight and treated more than two dozen people who became ill in the air, reported ABC News.
The pilots told air traffic controllers that they had experienced a sudden change in wind direction and decided to abort the landing at Newark. That’s when the routine flight turned into a roller coaster.
“My heart skipped a few times. I was texting my wife just in case,” said passenger Roi Gonen. He added that there was widespread panic and people vomiting.
Following the emergency landing seven passengers were taken to Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall with minor injuries, some of whom reported dizziness. The most seriously ill went to that area hospital, while the plane refueled for a quick and relatively uneventful flight to Newark.
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