Passengers taken to hospital after emergency landing at Reno Airport
RENO, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) — A Delta flight made an emergency landing at Reno-Tahoe International Airport on Wednesday, February 13 at around 1 p.m.
Delta Airlines flight 5763 was traveling from Santa Ana, California to Seattle, Washington.
The aircraft was diverted to an emergency landing in Reno due to severe turbulence.
Joe Justice, one of the passengers in the flight says about an hour into the flight from Santa Ana to Seattle the plane suddenly nose-dived. He saw passengers and a flight attendant manning a beverage cart floating, then they hit the ceiling of the plane before crashing down.
He says it all only last about a minute but it was terrifying for everyone on board. Justice says he was impressed by how the flight crew responded to the situation.
“They were as freaked out as anybody right in the moment but almost immediately after they gathered themselves together and were even more personal and even warmly smiling. It was inspiring,” said Justice.
Five people were injured, two passengers and one flight attendant were transported to the hospital with minor injuries, a spokeswoman with REMSA said.
The rest of the passengers were put on a different flight to Seattle this evening.
No word on the condition of the airplane, but Airport Authority is currently investigating.
Spokesperson Brian Kulpin from Reno Airport says another aircraft coming in from Salt Lake City, Utah will complete the final flight leg of the journey for passengers.
He also says no other flights or airport operations are affected.
News 4 - Fox 11 has reached out to Delta Airlines for commentary on the incident. This is what they responded:
Compass Airlines flight 5763 operating as Delta Connection from Orange County, CA to Seattle diverted to Reno after encountering severe turbulence. The aircraft landed safely and customers exited normally through the main cabin door. Delta is making resources available to take care of and support our customers. We apologize for this experience as we work to get customers to Seattle.
Delta says there were 59 passengers and 4 crew members aboard the Embraer 175 aircraft.
They also state that Compass is aware of a small number of injuries as a result of the turbulence.
