Delta Air Lines sued after ‘severe turbulence’ sends 25 people to the hospital

Delta Air Lines is being sued after severe turbulence sent more than two dozen passengers and crew to the hospital.

On July 30, 2025, a flight between Salt Lake City International Airport in Utah and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport experienced severe turbulence. The incident — which occurred over Wyoming — lasted for 2.5 minutes and forced the plane to divert to Minnesota.

Delta Air Lines has confirmed that when the plane landed, 25 people were taken to hospitals for treatment.

Now, 20 of those individuals are suing the airline, alleging that pilots "recklessly flew" too close to a thunderstorm, which subjected them to severe turbulence. The lawsuit was filed in Utah's 3rd District Court last week, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

Casey DuBose, an Aviation Law Group attorney representing the passengers, said in the filing that Delta not only "had the tools," but it "had the ability to avoid this weather and chose to disregard the warnings."

"Turbulence and severe weather are not new phenomena, and this accident could have been prevented," the Aviation Law Group wrote in a statement on Friday.

The filing also describes the "2.5 minutes of terror" as the passengers and their attorney have dubbed the incident.

“Those who were not restrained were thrown with such force that their bodies crashed into the ceiling and shattered the interior fixtures of the aircraft," the lawsuit states, according to the Tribune. "Passengers received head injuries, spinal injuries, concussions, lacerations, broken bones, bruises, and abrasions across their bodies.”

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. The plaintiffs argue in the lawsuit, however, that the National Weather Service had issued an advisory warning that severe weather, including thunderstorms, could be present along the flight's path.

The lawsuit claims that the pilots ignored "multiple warnings and briefing packages about the conditions" along the route, as well as weather warnings from Salt Lake City's air traffic controller.

It claims that the pilots "acknowledged that they saw the weather on their aircraft radar and had visual confirmation" but still "continued directly into the dangerous conditions" regardless.

The plaintiffs have not only called into question the pilots' alleged decision to proceed into the weather system, but also the decisions made in the immediate aftermath of the turbulence episode.

They argue that the aircraft should have been diverted to Salt Lake City or Denver following the incident, but was instead sent to Minnesota, adding another 90 minutes to an already harrowing flight.

The lawsuit claims that the airport was selected to "save Delta money on the cost of diversion, required aircraft maintenance, and for rebooking passengers," as Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is a major Delta hub.

The passengers are seeking an undisclosed amount of money and a trial.

The Independent has requested comment from Delta.