Continental flight forced down by turbulence

A Continental Airlines flight has been forced to make an emergency landing in Miami after being hit by severe turbulence.

Over 30 passengers are believed hurt as a result with nine presently receiving treatment in hospital. The flight had been on route from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to Houston in Texas when it was forced down at 05:35 local time (09:35 GMT).

The Boeing 767 has first encountered turbulence an hour earlier while over Dominican Republic.

No damage was reported aboard the aircraft while no crew are reported hurt. The plane carried 168 passengers and 11 crew members,

Earlier this year Air France flight AF 447 was bought down in severe storms over the Atlantic while on route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris with the loss of all onboard.

Turbulence accounted for 22 per cent of all airline accidents in the USA from 1996 to 2005 and was responsible for 49 per cent of the serious-injury accidents, according to figures from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSA) released earlier this year.

An investigation into the incident is underway.

travelbite.co.uk staff