Texas Flight Forced to Emergency Land, Severe Turbulence Injures 5

An inbound flight heading to Houston on March 2 was forced to make an emergency landing due to severe turbulence. Of the passengers onboard, five were rushed to the hospital.

United Airlines Flight 5690 Emergency Landing

On Sunday, March 2, United Airlines flight 5690 departed from Springfield, Missouri and was en route to Houston when, around 6:30 p.m., the aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing in Waco, TX.

The reason that the plane had to emergency land was due to severe weather. KY3 reports that a storm front in Texas forced the flight to change speed and altitude before hitting Waco.

Massive turbulence was soon felt in the small plane by all 28 passengers and three crew members. The experience was so severe that a total of five passengers were taken to the nearby hospital in Waco once they successfully landed.

FL360aero took to X to notify the public of the United Airline incident:

In the post, they also highlight that United flight 5690 was not the only plane diverted to Waco due to the storm systems in the state. There were actually a total of three separate flights sent to Waco Regional Airport on March 2: two heading to DFW along with the one from Springfield.

What Causes Turbulence?

According to the National Weather Service, turbulence can occur in many different situations, but the main factors that affect the bumpiness in flights include the following:

• Ground obstacles that offset wind patterns
• Thunderstorms
• Shifts between warm and cold air
• Air stability

One of the most common situations that pilots face are strong winds called squalls that fluctuate rapidly in speed. Squalls are responsible for many cases of severe turbulence outside of and including thunderstorms.