On Monday, August 3, after encountering “strong turbulence,” 22 aircraft, including 4 international flights, were forced to divert from Denver due to severe weather and land at the Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS).
The Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) confirmed that 5 passengers from different flights were assessed and treated for discomfort, with one stable passenger being taken to a local hospital.
CSFD spokesperson Ashley Franco mentioned that as the planes continued to arrive, the fire department had medical teams deployed at the airport’s apron and gates to ensure immediate aid. United Airlines stated that out of the 22 aircraft diverted to COS, 12 were their mainline jets.
Furthermore, the fleet also included 4 international flights operating cross-border.
A spokesperson for COS Airport told CNN that the airport remained open and operational throughout the incident. The diverted flights landed between around 4:40 pm and 8:00 pm on Monday afternoon, with all departing before 10:00 pm local time.
According to data from the flight tracking website FlightAware, Denver International Airport experienced over 850 flight delays and 44 cancellations that day due to severe weather.
Denver is considered one of the airports in the US with the most severe turbulence. When air flows through the Rocky Mountains, it causes the “mountain wave” phenomenon over the eastern plains, which combined with thunderstorms or high temperatures can lead to severe turbulence for flights heading to Denver.
As reported by the Denver Post citing turbulence prediction site Turbli, four out of the top 5 most turbulent flight routes in the US have either the starting point or the destination in Denver.
Dave Cunningham, the operations director of Denver International Airport, in an interview with KDVR TV under Nexstar, mentioned that while regular turbulence is uncomfortable but not dangerous, pilots are trained to handle it every day. In extreme cases, however, it cannot be ignored: a year ago, a Transwest Air flight experienced turbulence that led to a sudden descent of over 4,000 feet in one minute, resulting in 2 people being hospitalized.
Last summer, a Delta Air Lines flight also had to make an emergency landing due to severe turbulence, with 25 passengers who were not seat-belted or were tossed from their seats being taken to the hospital.