New Details Emerge After Passengers Were ‘Thrown’ Around Delta Flight Due to ‘Severe Turbulence’ Before 18 Were Hospitalized

Further details have now been released after a Delta Air Lines flight experienced “severe turbulence,” resulting in 24 passengers being evaluated by medics and 18 being hospitalized.

On July 30, 2025, at 5:23 p.m. local time, Delta Air Lines flight 56, an Airbus A330-941 — which had 246 passengers on board — encountered the turbulence “while in cruise flight at an altitude of 37,000 ft near Creston, Wyoming,” a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report stated.

The plane had been traveling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam in the Netherlands when it had to be diverted to Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP) International Airport.

“After landing, 24 of the 246 passengers were evaluated by emergency medical technicians, with 18 transported to local hospitals for additional assessment; information regarding their conditions is currently unavailable,” the report, which was released on Tuesday, Sept. 9, noted.

“Of the 10 cabin crew members, 2 sustained serious injuries, 5 sustained minor injuries, and 3 were uninjured. None of the 3 flight crew members were injured. The airplane sustained minor damage to interior components,” it added.

The NTSB said in the report that the flight crew had “discussed the conditions along the route” prior to departure, and some turbulence had been predicted. When the plane hit the “severe turbulence,” however, the seat belt sign had been turned off shortly before, and the cabin crew had begun service.

As passengers weren’t buckled in, they were “thrown” into the ceiling and back down to the floor during the incident, per the Associated Press. Those on board felt a gravitational force up to 1.75 times their body weight, the outlet noted.

“That’s a lot of force. That’s like a muscle man grabbing you by the shoulders and with all of his strength trying to pull you up,” aviation safety consultant Jeff Guzzetti, who previously investigated crashes for the NTSB and FAA, said, according to the AP. 

“If you’re standing and you experience those types of forces, you’re going to be thrown upward into the ceiling and then back down again onto the floor with a lot of force,” Guzzetti added.

Guzzetti said that enduring turbulence that lasted as long as it did on the Delta Air Lines flight would have felt like “an eternity” to passengers, per the news agency.

The report also noted that the plane’s left wing dipped down by approximately 40 degrees at one point.

Passenger Leann Clement-Nash told ABC News of the incident, “[Passengers] hit the ceiling, and then they fell to the ground. And the carts also hit the ceiling and fell to the ground, and people were injured. It happened several times, so it was really scary.” 

The pilot had asked air traffic controllers to route them around the storms; however, the aircraft ended up flying directly into the worst of the weather, per the AP.

Guzzetti said the NTSB will now investigate whether the pilot should have turned off the seatbelt sign and if the pilots and crew did enough to avoid the storms, the news agency reported.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Delta Air Lines said in a previous news release that it was “cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board on an investigation” after the flight had “encountered significant turbulence while enroute.”

“Safety is our No. 1 value at Delta, and our Delta Care Team is working directly with customers to support their immediate needs,” the airline said following the incident.

The NTSB didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information.

When asked about the NTSB report, a Delta Air Lines spokesperson told PEOPLE, “Delta will decline to comment other than to say that we are fully supporting the ongoing NTSB investigation.