2 Crew, 2 PAX to Local Hospital

Four passengers aboard an Allegiant Air Airbus A320 narrow-body airliner were injured in severe turbulence over St. Petersburg, Florida on Wednesday, 12 July 2023.

Then operating as Allegiant Air Flight G4-227, the A320, registration N249NV, was carrying 179 passengers and six crew-members. Allegiant’s website indicates subject flight departs North Carolina’s Asheville Regional Airport (AVL) and proceeds non-stop to Saint Petersburg’s Florida’s Saint Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE).

The A320 encountered the turbulence passing through FL210 on its descent into PIE. The turbulence was of sufficient severity to throw several cabin crew-members to the aircraft’s floor.

As the initial paroxysm of turbulence subsided, the A320 dropped precipitously, impelling the downed crew-members and numerous additional passengers not wearing seat-belts violently about the aircraft’s cabin. Some travelers were hurled upward and crashed headlong into the Airbus’s ceiling. Online flight-tracking indicated the A320 plunged in excess of eight-thousand-feet in two-minutes.

Passenger Lisa Spriggs stated: "More than halfway through descending, and all of a sudden, we hit a small turbulence, and the stewardess beside us fell to the ground. And then we hit a major turbulence, which was petrifying. And she was literally like ‘Matrix.’ Watched her go up in the air and just land straight down. We’ve experienced turbulence before on different trips, but that was terrifying."

At 15:15 EDT, some 17-minutes after encountering the turbulence, Allegiant Flight G4-227 landed at PIE without further incident and taxied directly to its arrival gate.

Waiting paramedics assessed the injured, deeming two crew-members and two passengers in need of precautionary hospitalization.

In a post-incident statement, Allegiant Air spokesman Andrew Porrello asserted the Las Vegas, Nevada-based air-carrier intends to investigate the incident in cooperation with both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. Mr. Porrello set forth, also, that the airline would release further information as such became available.

FMI: www.allegiantair.com