News - Local
FAA places DIA injuries at 30
Posted: Jul 21, 2010 7:23 AM by Bea Karnes, News First 5
Updated: Jul 21, 2010 7:29 AM
It felt like dropping down an elevator shaft. That's how one passenger described the turbulence aboard a United Airlines jet that made an emergency landing in Denver Tuesday night.
One woman was jolted out of her seat so forcefully that she left a crack in the wall when she hit the side of the cabin.
Federal authorities say 30 passengers injured. Reports Tuesday night said that 21 passengers were taken to five hospitals. The discrepancy could lie in a difference between people treated at the scene and those who needed hospital care.
The flight originated at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., and was headed to Los Angeles when it had to be diverted to Denver. The plane ran into turbulence over Kansas.
The FAA says the incident will be a "front-burner item" for both it and the National Transportation Safety Board. Inspectors didn't find any obvious damage to the diverted plane's exterior or interior.
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