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Flight to Seattle diverted after severe turbulence; 5 injured

By Asia Fields, The Seattle Times
Published: February 14, 2019, 9:54am

SEATTLE — Five people were injured after a Delta Air Lines flight headed to Seattle from Orange County, California, experienced severe turbulence Wednesday and was forced to divert to Reno, Nevada.

Two passengers and one flight attendant were taken to hospitals in Reno for evaluation, said Compass Airlines spokesperson Cartiay McCoy, who did not specify the extent of their injuries. The flight was operated by Compass Airlines as a Delta Connection flight.

Two other passengers also reported injuries, but they declined to be taken to the hospital after being checked by medics, said Brian Kulpin, spokesman for the Reno-Tahoe International Airport. All passengers were conscious, he said.

A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman confirmed Compass Flight 5763 from John Wayne Airport in Orange County was diverted to Reno and landed without further incident around 1 p.m. after the crew reported the turbulence at about 34,000 feet.

Customers will be refunded by Delta and were assigned an alternative flight to Seattle, McCoy said. That flight was supposed to leave Reno around 5:30 p.m., but departure was moved back two hours. The flight departed around 7:40 p.m. and arrived in Seattle at 9:22 p.m., according toFlightAware.

The delay in depature was caused by processing passengers, McCoy said.

The National Weather Service had warned earlier Wednesday that a strong winter storm moving into the region could create dangerous flying conditions with extreme turbulence. A winter-storm warning was in effect for the Lake Tahoe area through 11 p.m. Thursday.

There were 70 passengers and 4 crew members aboard the Embraer 175 aircraft, McCoy said. Passengers waited in a private room at the Reno airport, which partnered with Delta to provide pizza and customer-service representatives, Kulpin said.

Compass Airlines is reviewing the incident and did not have additional details Wednesday evening.

Information from The Associated Press included in this report.

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