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Seven in hospital from US plane turbulence

Getty Images A Lufthansa Airbus A330-343 seen at gate at Dulles Washington International airport (IAD) in Dulles, Virginia on March 12, 2021Getty Images
A Lufthansa Airbus A330-343

Seven people were in hospital after a Lufthansa flight made an emergency landing on Wednesday night in Virginia.

Lufthansa Flight 469 was flying from Austin, Texas, to Frankfurt, Germany, when it experienced "severe turbulence" over Tennessee.

It was then forced to land at Dulles International Airport outside Washington DC.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it is investigating the incident.

The plane, an Airbus A330, was at an altitude of about 37,000 feet when the turbulence occurred, the FAA told BBC News' US partner CBS.

Dulles Airport confirmed that seven people on the plane were transported to local hospitals.

Another aviation incident was reported earlier on Wednesday, involving a Spirit Airlines flight bound for Orlando, Florida, that was forced to make an emergency landing in Jacksonville due to a battery fire in an overhead bin, the FAA said.

One person was reportedly taken to hospital for minor injuries.

In December, severe turbulence on a Hawaii Airlines flight bound for Honolulu injured 36 people, 11 of them seriously.

A total of 20 were taken to local hospitals at the time. Officials said that one person was knocked unconscious and about 10 experienced nausea and vomiting.