Upon landing at Philadelphia International Airport on Saturday, three passengers and seven members of the flight crew of an American Airlines plane had to be hospitalized for injuries. The plane hit extremely heavy turbulence, throwing passengers, objects, and coffee all over the cabin.

Ten hospitalized after shaky American Airlines flight

According to a statement by American Airlines, the turbulence happened on Flight 759 shortly before the plane was set to land at the Philadelphia International Airport at 3:12 p.m. after flying from Athens, Greece.

Initially, Sunny Rodriguez (the airline spokeswoman) gave few details on Saturday evening relating to the injuries sustained by crew members and passengers and their medical status. However, seven members of the flight crew -- along with three passengers -- were transported to a local hospital for evaluation after the flight landed. The airline added that they were taking care of both the passengers and their crew members, and went on to thank their “team members” for keeping the passengers safe.

Coffee flew all over the plane’s cabin

Various passengers have since commented on their experience during the flight, including Jessica Huseman, a reporter working for the news site ProPublica. Philly.com quoted Huseman as saying in a tweet that she was on the American Airlines flight and that one cabin crew member had a dislocated shoulder from the incident.

In another tweet, Huseman said that there was no warning before the turbulence started. The plane suddenly "lurched" and she said the experience was “terrifying,” adding that some of the passengers had also been injured.

In her tweets, Huseman posted images showing the ceiling of the airplane’s cabin, liberally splashed with the coffee passengers received prior to the turbulence.

She said they used their fleece blankets to clean the coffee off the ceiling after it happened, but added that the airline would be hosing the interior of the plane “for hours.” In a further tweet she said there was coffee inside the cabin lights and that she "smelled terrible."

Another passenger, Alex Ehmke, told NBC News that it felt like the American Airlines plane suddenly “lurched” downward, rather than in a freefall during the heavy turbulence.

Ehmke said he was looking forward and watched everything move upward by about four feet. He said he saw drinks flying up onto the ceiling and against the walls of the cabin. Ehmke added that one man seated directly behind him also hit the ceiling. However, after the sudden drop was over, everything leveled off and went back to normal.
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