Two people aboard a Southwest flight were injured after severe turbulence occurred over the Gulf of Mexico, which forced the plane to make an emergency landing in Florida.
Southwest Airlines told FOX Weather in a statement that Flight 4273 was diverted to Tampa International on Wednesday morning due to turbulence.
According to Southwest, two people were injured and required medical treatment after landing.
The flight departed New Orleans, Louisiana, at 6:44 a.m. and was headed to Orlando International Airport, according to data from Flightaware.com.
The flight landed at Tampa International at 8:56 am.
“The Captain declared an emergency, a requirement to deviate from a submitted flight plan, and also requested that paramedics be available when the aircraft arrived to evaluate any possible injuries,” Southwest said in the statement.
“Two people were transported to a Tampa Bay area medical center,” they added.
Radar showed intense storms over the Gulf of Mexico about halfway through the flight from New Orleans. Florida and much of the East Coast have been experiencing thunderstorms and severe weather throughout Wednesday as a cold front moves east.
FOX 8 New Orleans reported that a passenger and a stewardess were the injured people.
Southwest said customers arrived in Orlando four and a half hours late.
“With our apologies for the delay in travel, there is no higher priority than the safest operation of each flight,” the airline said.
Once the plane was on the ground, mechanics checked it, according to Southwest.
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