On Wednesday, Lufthansa 469 did not make it past Washington, DC due to unexpected heavy turbulence that injured passengers and crew members onboard and caused a sudden drop in altitude that sent items flying through the cabin.
Lufthansa Flight Diverts To Washington Dulles After Severe Turbulence
On March 1, 2023 LH469 took off from Austin (AUS), bound for Frankfurt (FRA) utilizing an Airbus A330-300. While flying over Tennessee, in the midst of dinner service, the aircraft hit severe and unexpected turbulence and suddenly dropped.
That sent meals, bags…and passengers who had not buckled up flying through the cabin. Some who were not wearing their seatbelt, hit their heads on the cabin ceiling. One passneger told The Washington Post:
“I seriously thought we were going to die.”
She also recounted how when the turbulence hit, a baby flew out of a bassinet, forcing a mother to literally jump in the air to catch it.
A first-hand account shared by Camila Alves McConaughey, the Brazilian model and wife of actor Matthew McConaughey, notes injuries that occurred onboard:
On Flight last night, plane dropped almost 4000 feet, 7 people went to the hospital, Everything was flying everywhere. To respect the privacy of those around me that’s all I am showing but the plane was a CHAOS And the turbulence keep on coming.
View this post on Instagram
The captain later remarked that the “unanticipated” storm pattern over Tennessee.
After the plane diverted to Dulles, passengers were put up at the Marriott Hotel outside the terminal and continued their journey yesterday.
The incident is a great reminder that even when seated and when the seatbelt light is off, we should leave our seatbelts fastened while seated.
CONCLUSION
No, Lufthansa is not starting an Eighth Freedom flight between Austin and Washington, DC. Instead, a horrific pocket of unexpected turbulence was so severe that it forced a diversion, throwing the cabin into disarray and ultimately sending seven to the hospital.
Let’s use this story as a reminder to always buckle up when seated.
images: @ModerMuna/Twitter (center) // @camilamcconaughey/Instagram (right and left)
Was it turbulence or was it hit by lightning? Several places mentioned the plane was hit by lightning.
NBC not reporting lightning — yet.
It wasn’t just his wife, he was also on the flight. Read her account and she mentions how they both made it to the Marriott Dulles bar just before closing
“@officiallymcconaughey and I made it to the bar with 1 minute before closing…slept well, getting on new flight today,”
That IAD Marriott is awful
I wish LH would start an 8th freedom flight to DC. That would be great, but please let it be to DCA. I freaking hate the perimeter rule.
@Jerry. The perimeter rule is a double edge sword when you live there. How wonderful when you could arrive/depart so easily. But try to sleep in on a weekday. The upriver valley is in amphitheater. I lived a couple miles away and never needed and alarm clock. The rumble from take off crazy loud. (Also the 4th fireworks made my dog freak)
Well buckling up is risk reward like anything else right. Sure avoiding this is good. But it’s pretty rare. And having a plane seatbelt on has some downside esp when sleeping.
I will always buckle up in a car but often don’t bother in a plane.
Mayor Pete allowed this to happen.
Please post under Average Democrat, too. Let’s at least be fair. In the meantime, can you please stop propping up Mayor Pete? He’s not exactly getting good press:
–A Maryland mayor who was recently arrested on 56 child pornography related-charges has visited the Biden White House at least six times since June 2021, according to a new report.
Democrat Patrick Wojahn resigned from his role as the mayor of College Park, Md., on Wednesday, shortly before he was arrested on 40 counts of possession of child pornography and 16 counts of distributing child pornography.
He posted pictures to Instagram posing alongside Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Buttigieg’s husband with the caption, “Always great to see these guys at the White House.”
The mayor described Buttigieg as his political mentor during an interview with the Washington Blade in November 2019. He said he met Buttigieg, who was then the mayor of South Bend, Ind., when he was assigned to be Wojahn’s “buddy” at the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Winter Meeting in January 2015. The pair bonded over the challenges of being openly gay mayors, according to the report.
Wojahn explained how the former South Bend, Ind., mayor, who is also gay, was tasked with being his “buddy” at a gathering of mayors in Washington long before Buttigieg’s 2020 White House run.
“I went to the US Conference of Mayors’ Winter Meeting in DC in January [2015] and he was assigned to be my buddy,” Wojahn said.
Wojahn said that after meeting Buttigieg, the two would continue to talk on the phone and both later attended a White House event during the Obama administration.
Buttigieg has faced calls to resign and even threats of impeachment in recent weeks over his handling of the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment that dumped toxic chemicals in the small town.
His use of taxpayer-subsidized private planes on more than a dozen occasions is also now under investigation by his department’s inspector general.
Just two mayors, grabbing a beer together. #MayorPete–https://twitter.com/patrick_wojahn/status/1149154871230238720
C’mon, we all know that Average Republican is actually Substandard Democrat.
Trump is already visiting the Dulles Marriott to console the victims of this great tragedy and sell MAGA hats to everyone. How dare Pete miss this opportunity!
You write:
The captain later remarked that the “unanticipated” storm pattern over Tennessee.
What about it? You didn’t finish the sentence.
My wife and I had a taste of that turbulence Wednesday night on a flight from Charlotte to Des Moines. The captain said it would be a mostly smooth ride except for some bumps around Cincinnati. The “unanticipated” rocky ride started almost immediately after takeoff and the seatbelt sign stayed on except for the last 45 minutes or so, when flight attendants were allowed to move around. Rough night.