An American Airlines passenger sustained a serious injury during a flight from São Paulo, Brazil, to Miami on Saturday.
Severe turbulence forced the flight to return nearly two hours into the flight after the traveler’s leg was reportedly fractured from the episode.
Others were also injured, which prompted medical evaluations once back on the ground.
The incident occurred just days after two flight attendants were injured from moderate turbulence on an American flight from Tokyo to New York.
The Aviation Herald was the first to report the incident. American confirmed the development in a statement to Simple Flying late Sunday.
“American Airlines flight 930 with service from Sao Paulo, Brazil (GRU) to Miami (MIA) returned to GRU after encountering turbulence while in flight.”
AA930 was operated by a Boeing 777-200ER, registered as N753AN. Data from FlightAware shows the aircraft pushed back from gate 265 at São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) on Saturday at 22:27.
It was on time for its eight-and-a-half-hour journey to Miami International Airport (MIA).
It taxied to runway 09L, where it became airborne at 22:48. The 777-200ER took off straight out, heading northeast as it climbed in altitude.
At about six minutes into the air and passing through 13,000 feet, the aircraft turned northwest and headed in the direction for another 10 minutes.
It then turned north, intercepting its flight path, and reached an initial cruising altitude of 36,000 feet about 25 minutes into the flight.
N753AN maintained the altitude for another 20 minutes before climbing to 38,000 feet.
At about one hour into the flight, data shows the aircraft abruptly jumped up to 38,100 feet, while its speed slightly decreased from 602 miles per hour (mph) to 597 mph – or 523 knots to 518 knots.
The aircraft rebounded its altitude and speed until about seven minutes later, when its direction slightly shifted east, and its speed decreased to 581 mph (504 knots).
According to The Aviation Herald, the aircraft encountered severe turbulence about 770 nautical miles north of São Paulo.
There were injuries to multiple people onboard, prompting the crew to reroute back to GRU. At approximately 00:32, N753AN descended to 37,000 feet, turned around, and headed in the opposite direction.
Over an hour later, at 01:41, the aircraft began its initial descent to 35,000 feet. About 15 minutes later, it descended further as it approached São Paulo.
By 02:17, the aircraft had descended through 4,000 feet and was lining up for its final approach. It landed safely on runway 09L at 02:21.
A number of people were assessed for minor injuries, while the passenger who suffered the leg fracture was taken to a nearby hospital, according to The Aviation Herald.
“We thank our crew members for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding,” the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline stated.
221 passengers and 12 crew members were onboard. American also said the seatbelt sign was on when the aircraft encountered the turbulence. It is unclear how the misplaced passengers were accommodated.
