Lufthansa flight shows turbulence still causing injuries

Turbulence remains a major cause of injuries to flight passengers and crew, even as US airlines have made steady improvements in their overall accident rate in recent years. A Lufthansa flight from Texas to Germany is the latest example. The Airbus A330 reported severe turbulence over Tennessee on Wednesday and was diverted to Virginia’s Washington Dulles International Airport. Seven people were taken to hospitals with injuries believed to be minor. Climate change is expected to make turbulence worse in the coming decades, experts say, though improvements in weather forecasting will help. Turbulence accounted for 37.6% of all accidents on larger commercial airlines between 2009 and 2018, according to a 2021 report from the National Transportation Safety Board. The FAA released data last year showing 146 serious injuries resulted from turbulence from 2009 to 2021. Last year, over the span of two days in December, a flight to Honolulu and a flight to Houston hurt a total of 41 people. In July, severe turbulence led to at least eight minor injuries on a flight to Nashville, Tennessee, that had to be diverted to Alabama. Also, three separate flights to Detroit, Miami and Columbus, Ohio, resulted in series injures to three crew members, according to NTSB data. The NSTB has said more can be done — both within the industry and among passengers — to limit injuries from turbulence. And everyone agrees that simply wearing a seatbelt during the entire flight will significantly reduce one’s risk of getting hurt.<br/>