A group of 20 passengers are suing Delta Air Lines after pilots allegedly failed to avoid a patch of bad weather leading to turbulence that saw 25 customers and crew taken to hospital
Twenty airline passengers are taking Delta Air Lines to court after more than two dozen passengers and crew were left in hospital following severe turbulence.
The incident occurred on a flight between Salt Lake City International Airport in Utah and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport which was struck by severe turbulence and forced to divert.
The flight was passing over the US state of Wyoming on July 30, 2025 when passengers experienced “2.5 minutes of terror” as the plane was rocked by the rough conditions, leading to an unscheduled landing in Minnesota.
After the Airbus A330 touched down 25 people were taken to hospitals for treatment, Delta Air Lines has confirmed.
Now a lawsuit has been filed by 20 of the passengers, who claim that the pilots “recklessly flew” too close to a thunderstorm, which was the cause of the turbulence which struck the plane.
The suit, filed in Utah’s 3rd District Court last week, alleges that the airline’s flight crew received multiple warnings about dangerous weather — and heard other planes deviate from similar routes — but continued on its planned course anyway, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
The lawsuit alleges this decision subjected passengers to “2.5 minutes of terror” with several customers and flight crew suffering injuries in the process. Casey DuBose, a lawyer representing the passengers, said the airline had not only “had the tools,” but it “had the ability to avoid this weather and chose to disregard the warnings.”
The Aviation Law Group said in a statement: “Many passengers described a terrifying cabin scene, with people, carts, food, and personal items thrown through the aircraft.”
It added: “People struck ceilings, overhead bins, seat assemblies, and cabin fixtures. The complaint alleges injuries ranging from head and spinal trauma, concussions, lacerations, and broken bones to lasting post-traumatic stress disorder and fear of flying.”
“Turbulence and severe weather are not new phenomena, and this accident could have been prevented,” the group said in the statement, released on Friday.
The plane’s seatbelt sign was not lit when it encountered turbulence. The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the incident and determined that the pilots were caught off-guard by the storm.
However the complainants say that the National Weather Service had issued an advisory warning that severe weather, including thunderstorms along the route of the flight.
The lawsuit says other planes diverted around the area of bad weather and question the decision by Delta pilots to continue, despite claiming they were well aware of the dangers.
As well as questioning the pilots’ alleged decision to proceed into the storm, the suit also takes aim at their choice to divert to Minnesota, where Delta has a major hub, rather than a close airport such as Salt Lake City or Denver following the incident. The lawsuit claims this added on 90 minutes to the harrowing flight.
The passengers are seeking an undisclosed amount of money and a trial.
The Mirror has requested comment from Delta.
