American Airlines flight makes emergency landing at O'Hare CHICAGO (AP)— An American Airlines flight from New York hit air turbulence Wednesday, injuring four flight attendants. The plane made an emergency landing in Chicago. Flight 117 from JFK Airport was headed to Los Angeles when the 767 experienced turbulence as it was climbing at 30,000 feet, said American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner.
None of the flight's 137 passengers were injured because the sign to fasten their seat belts was on, Wagner said.
The plane landed at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport as a precaution so the injured flight attendants, suffering bruises or strained necks, could receive medical care.
The passengers transferred to a new aircraft — a Boeing 757 — so the 767 they were on could be examined for possible damage, Wagner said.
Passengers described several seconds of scary shaking after the plane landed Wednesday night at Los Angeles International Airport about 3 1/2hours late.
"It just hit us all at once, and it just, you know, shocked me," passenger Nancy Roncone told KABC-TV. "I thought maybe the plane cracked in half."
Passenger John Kiloran described the turbulence as "5 or 10 seconds of just like crash, bang, boom, up and down. And immediately they knew something was wrong with the stewardesses. They called anyone who was a physician, they asked for a doctor to come help."