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November 8, 2009

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Turbulence injures five on America West flight bound for Vegas

Thursday, April 19, 2001 | 2:40 a.m.

LAS VEGAS - Five people were injured Thursday when an America West aircraft encountered turbulence on a flight from New York City to Las Vegas.

Two passengers and two flight attendants on Flight 7 from John F. Kennedy International Airport were taken to University Medical Center in Las Vegas after the A320 Airbus landed safely at McCarran International Airport at 11:15 a.m., airport spokeswoman Debbie Millett said. A fifth passenger who was examined at the airport by medical staff declined further treatment.

The nonstop flight was carrying 120 passengers and five crew members.

"Flight 7 experienced turbulence over Cimarron, New Mexico, at 31,000 feet," American West spokeswoman Patty Nowack said from Tempe, Ariz., where the airline is based. "We don't have a characterization of the turbulence at this time."

Two female passengers complained of neck soreness, while a male passenger had leg and arm soreness, Nowack said. The flight attendants both had ankle injuries.

Four patients were admitted to UMC, said hospital spokesman Rick Plummer.

Three had neck and back injuries and one was being treated for a possible broken ankle, Plummer said. All were still being evaluated.

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