Severe turbulence on a JetBlue flight Monday sent eight people to the hospital and rattled passengers’ nerves.
“The doors of refrigerators exploded. It was horrible,” a passenger on the JetBlue flight from Puerto Rico to Orlando told Univision Monday.
The injured passengers were taken to Florida Hospital East once the flight landed.
Raw: Passenger records inside of Jet Blue plane after turbulence
Raw: More video of JetBlue turbulence
Some passengers took to Facebook and Twitter, describing the turbulence as a “big drop.” They said their necks and backs were hurting, and even though they were wearing their seatbelts, they were injured.
The flight left San Juan just before 6 p.m. and landed in Orlando at about 9 p.m.
JetBlue released a statement that said, "JetBlue flight 1134 experienced turbulence while en route from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Orlando. The flight arrived in Orlando at 8:52 p.m. ET. Medical personnel met the aircraft upon arrival to assist customers, and eight customers were transported to a local hospital for further evaluation."
A woman who took some of the pictures and video claims she and her mom suffered neck and back injuries, but didn’t go to the hospital.
Veronica Hernandez Torres was traveling with her daughter and mother on the bumpy flight.
The turbulence hit the plane at the worst possible time, when flight attendants were handing our drinks and snacks, Torres said.
“That was just the time it got worse, the drinks are all tacked above and we were asked to quickly buckle our seat belts,” she said. “The hostess ran to sit and went to the back, it was like a movie. The belts were buckled and at that moment, the plane (experienced turbulence) and the oxygen systems came down.”
Once on the ground, the plane was inundated by emergency personnel, Torres said.
It was not clear if she was among those injured in the incident.
A storm was reported in that plane's path, according to certified WFTV meteorologist George Waldenberger.
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