8 people hospitalized after turbulence forces Medellin-New York flight to divert to Miami

A Miami International Airport official says Avianca Airlines Flight 042, travelling from Medellin, Colombia, to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, was diverted "due to turbulence."

'It wasn't normal,' said one passenger

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Eight passengers have been hospitalized after an Avianca Airlines flight bound for New York City was forced to divert to Miami due to turbulence, local officials and the airline have said.

Greg Chin, communications director of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, said in an email Friday morning that Avianca Flight 042 — travelling from Medellin, Colombia, to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport — landed at Miami International Airport at 3:30 a.m.

"Eight passengers were transported to a nearby hospital," Chin told CBC News.

The condition of the injured passengers was not immediately clear.

An Avianca Airlines plane prepares to take off at San Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador, in 2022. (Jose Cabezas/Reuters)

In a statement sent to CBC on Friday, Avianca said the flight "encountered unexpected turbulence during its journey."

"As a precaution and in accordance with the airline’s safety protocols, the flight was diverted to Miami International Airport (MIA), where the aircraft landed safely," it said.

Three members of the crew and six passengers were affected, the airline added, without specifying who had been transported to hospital.

The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department (MDFR) told CBC News it transported one person to the main trauma centre while seven others were taken to local hospitals by private ambulances.

It said eight MDFR units had responded to a "medical call" at 3:10 a.m. following "reports of turbulence in an aircraft."

'It wasn't normal'

Local media outlets aired footage showing multiple fire department vehicles, with their lights flashing, on the Miami airport tarmac.

Maria Paula Jimenez, one of the passengers, told CBS News Miami that she saw "more than five or six ambulances" when the plane landed in Miami.

"When we arrived, well, you know, it wasn't normal."

Chin at Miami International Airport said the flight was scheduled to depart for JFK International Airport at 8:15 a.m. Friday "with the remaining passengers."

The airport's flight tracker showed Avianca Flight 042 departed at that time.

Avianca said it made arrangements for the remaining passengers to continue to New York while it "remains in contact with the affected passengers and crew members as it continues to respond to the situation."

"The safety of our customers and employees is, and will remain, the foundation of our operations."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jillian Kestler-D'Amours is a senior writer at CBC based in Montreal. You can reach her at jillian.kestler-d.amours@cbc.ca.