A United flight traveling from Hawaii to Los Angeles International Airport encountered severe turbulence Wednesday night and landed safely at LAX.
ABC7 Los Angeles reported that four flight attendants were injured and one was taken to a hospital.
Part of a Troubling Pattern for Flight Crews
Turbulence reports rose 23% during the first six months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024. The Los Angeles Times also covered a separate incident involving an Avianca flight.
That Avianca flight, Flight 42, was headed from Medellín, Colombia, to New York's JFK Airport earlier this month when severe turbulence forced it to divert to Miami. Accounts of how many people were hurt differ: Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said eight people were injured after the plane landed safely at Miami International Airport, while airline officials told CBS News Miami that nine people — three crew members and six passengers — were hurt.
Why Flight Attendants Face Higher Risk
Flight attendants are often standing or moving through the cabin when turbulence hits, a dynamic noted in earlier San Francisco Chronicle reporting on United's own turbulence incidents.
That same reporting detailed a United Boeing 787-9 traveling between French Polynesia and San Francisco that hit turbulence over the Pacific Ocean, seriously injuring a flight attendant. Another United flight, Flight 115, injured one flight attendant while no passengers were hurt, with the aircraft landing safely and paramedics meeting the plane on arrival, the Chronicle reported.
A History of Serious Turbulence Injuries at United
Wednesday's incident is not the first time a United flight has faced scrutiny over turbulence injuries. United Flight 1890 was traveling from Los Angeles to Newark Liberty International Airport in February 2024 when it flew into unstable air that seriously injured three flight attendants, according to CNN. The National Transportation Safety Board later concluded that a turbulence report from another aircraft had not been relayed to United Flight 1890 as required by FAA procedures.
Turbulence-related injuries have also led to litigation elsewhere in the industry. Twenty-four passengers received medical attention after a Delta Air Lines flight encountered turbulence over Wyoming, and 18 were hospitalized; at least 20 passengers have since filed lawsuits against Delta over the incident, per the Los Angeles Times.
Federal Guidance on Prevention
The Federal Aviation Administration encourages airlines to use operating procedures and training to prevent turbulence injuries, prioritize flight attendants' personal safety, and gather data on each carrier's history of turbulence encounters, according to the agency's own guidance. The National Transportation Safety Board has also compiled safety-study material on turbulence-related risks in commercial aviation.
What turbulence data and forecasts can show
A National Transportation Safety Board safety study examined turbulence-related safety.
Flight attendants have been injured in turbulence incidents, including on United flights. For now, the cause of Wednesday night's turbulence and the specific injuries suffered by the United crew members remain unclear, and ABC7 Los Angeles said it would continue updating the story as more details emerge.
