Passengers thought 'they were going to die' after Pittsburgh-bound plane hit heavy turbulence

The jet was on route from the Dominican Republic to Pittsburgh

(Alliant Airlines)

“I thought, ‘The plane’s going down, and I’m going to die. It was like the plane’s falling out of the sky.”

So spoke Malachi Witt, one of the passengers on board a flight from Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic which had to be diverted after encountering after severe turbulence that caused numerous injuries.

Allegiant Air Flight 7001, which was bound for Pittsburgh, made an emergency landing at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport around 3.43pm on Thursday after officials were told that a number of passenger were hurt.

The plane was experiencing normal turbulence when the passengers felt a jolt that pulsated through the aircraft. Then followed a second, bigger jolt that threw people from their seats, Mr Witt told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Heather Osborne, another passenger, told WTAE: “We were flying normal, I was actually sleeping and I heard a little jolt and then all of a sudden a big jolt and I looked over at my mum and she was like flying up in the air. I actually had my seat belt on. My mom didn’t.”

Amanda Kuhn, who was bruised, said: “I have people’s blood on my feet.”

After the flight was diverted, seven people on board were transported to the local hospital, the newspaper reported.

Three were passengers, and four were flight attendants. None of their injuries were life-threatening.

Mike Jachles with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office told reporters: “The injuries range from bruises, lacerations, facial fractures, to a head injury.”

In total, there were six crew members and 137 passengers on the charter flight at the time of the turbulence. The flight eventually landed in Pittsburgh at 11pm.