AA734: Emergency Landing in Charleston Due to Turbulence

American Airlines Flight 734 Makes Emergency Landing in Charleston, NC

American Airlines Flight 734, en route from Miami to Washington, D.C., was forced to make an emergency landing in Charleston, North Carolina.

AA734, carrying 152 passengers and six crewmembers, encountered severe turbulence over Florida.

Two passengers and one flight attendant suffered minor injuries. The plane, a Boeing 737, will be swapped out and investigated for damage, while the passengers will board a different plane to continue the journey to Washington, D.C.

Can Turbulence Cause a Plane Crash?

AA734 didn't crash, but the emergency landing raises an age-old question: can turbulence cause a plane to crash? Turbulence is a factor in plane crashes around once a decade: it's exceedingly rare that turbulence is the only factor, though, and turbulence severe enough to bring down a jetliner is vanishingly rare, especially considering how much better modern planes are at avoiding turbulence in the first place.

More likely (but still rare) would be a scenario in which violent turbulence injures enough people onboard that the plane must land in order for passengers to get medical attention.