Seven passengers got injured after a Frankfurt bound plane made an emergency landing at DC airport

On Wednesday, Lufthansa Flight 469 flying from Austin to Frankfurt made an emergency landing in Washington DC after being hit by lightning and experiencing a traumatic wave of turbulence at 37,000 feet while the no-seatbelt sign was turned off. Terrified passengers were left screaming in terror and surrounded by broken glass.

Seven passengers were taken to the hospital with unknown injuries. One man whose wife was on the flight reported that people who didn’t have their seatbelts fastened got hurt the most as it came as a surprise.

A photo sent by the man’s wife showed that food trays, containers, silverware, and pamphlets were scattered among the aisle after landing. A passenger, who spoke anonymously with the Washington Post, said that food went flying into the air, hitting and damaging the ceiling of the plane.

The passenger sitting in the row in front had to be wheeled off the plane in a wheelchair after being badly hurt and heavily bleeding. Another person whose sister and brother-in-law were on the flight said it was exceptionally scary, with lots of broken glass and screaming, and multiple injuries.

The airline is providing hotel accommodations for the passengers, and the FAA is investigating the incident. Lufthansa has offered passengers a link to request a refund, and one angry passenger on Twitter demanded compensation for the catastrophic forced landing incident involving LH469.

Another passenger thanked the crew for taking care of them during the scary experience.

In a separate incident earlier this week, American Airlines passenger Tiffany Michelle Miles had her criminal charges dropped after she allegedly tried to breach the cockpit when the crew did not serve her drink fast enough, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing. She was initially facing a misdemeanor of airport obstruction, which carries a jail sentence of 20 years. Miles claimed that she was going to the restroom and not trying to storm the cockpit. She was relieved that the charge was dismissed but had to speak to her legal team.