Seven individuals on a Lufthansa flight experienced “significant turbulence” over Tennessee, resulting in the plane being diverted to Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C. where the passengers were then sent to nearby hospitals.
The husband of one of the passengers took to Twitter to state that lightning had struck the plane and it had dropped 1,000 feet.
In response, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) started an investigation into what happened on the Airbus A330, which had been travelling from Austin, Texas to Frankfurt, Germany.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said that once the plane was at Dulles, they transported seven people to hospitals.
A picture uploaded to Twitter showed the cabin of the plane in disarray with trays and other items scattered across the floor. According to the user, those who were not wearing their seatbelts were the most affected due to the surprise.
Lufthansa noted that the turbulence was “brief but severe” and their staff at Dulles were offering medical attention to those injured and rebooking them on alternative flights. The airline expressed their regret for the inconvenience caused and reiterated that the safety of passengers and crew is always their top priority.