By Michael Sercan Daventry
LONDON (AA) – Sixteen people were hospitalized Wednesday after severe turbulence over the Atlantic Ocean forced a passenger jet to make an emergency landing in Ireland, local media reported.
The United Airlines Boeing 767 carrying 220 passengers and crew was around 500 kilometers (310 miles) off the southwest coast when pilots requested permission to divert to a nearby airport, The Clare Herald newspaper said.
Flight UA880, which had been flying to London Heathrow Airport from Houston, Texas, landed at Shannon Airport shortly before 6.00 a.m. local time (0500GMT).
It was met by paramedics who took 14 passengers and two crew members to University Hospital in Limerick.
An airline spokesman said the aircraft had “experienced severe and unexpected turbulence”.
