An American Airlines passenger was taken to hospital after severe turbulence caused a 4-hour flight to nowhere

An American Airlines Boeing 777.

An American Airlines passenger was taken to hospital after their flight encountered turbulence.

Data from Flightradar24 shows that Saturday’s Flight 930 from São Paulo to Miami U-turned less than two hours after taking off. It ultimately became a four-and-a-half-hour flight to nowhere.

An airline spokesperson confirmed to B-17 that the flight landed safely back in São Paulo “after encountering turbulence while in flight.”

“We thank our crew members for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding,” they added.

The Boeing 777 had 12 crew members and 221 passengers, one of whom was taken to a hospital in Brazil, according to the airline. The airline also said the seatbelt sign was on when the plane encountered turbulence.

The Aviation Herald, which first reported the incident, said the passenger had a fractured leg, while some others had minor injuries.

Saturday’s incident comes in a year that has seen many airlines change their protocols due to rising incidents involving heavy turbulence.

A Singapore Airlines passenger died, and dozens more were injured during severe turbulence in May. The airline then announced it would no longer serve meals when the seatbelt sign is on.

It was followed by a change in protocol at Korean Air, which decided to end its cabin service early and stop serving instant noodles to economy passengers.

Korean Air said turbulence had “become a persistent and growing problem in recent years.” It added the number of incidents had doubled in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period in 2019.

It also suggested the climate crisis had had an impact, citing “large temperature differences between altitudes.”

Turbulence is created when differences in wind speed result in more friction between air molecules. A warmer climate imparts more energy into the air, which in turn creates more friction.

This is especially notable around the jet streams, where clear-air turbulence is most prevalent.

In a 2023 study, researchers from the University of Reading found that a typical point over the North Atlantic, the most severe type of clear-air turbulence increased by 55% between 1979 and 2020.