Lifestyle Travel 7 Hospitalized After Lufthansa Flight Experiencing 'Severe Turbulence' Makes Emergency Landing The flight crew reported 'severe turbulence' as they were flying at 37,000 feet altitude over Tennessee By Kimberlee Speakman Kimberlee Speakman Kimberlee Speakman is a digital writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Her work has previously appeared in Forbes and she has also worked in broadcast television as a reporter for Hawaii-based news station KHON2 News. People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 2, 2023 08:06AM EST Seven airline passengers were taken to the hospital for injuries they experienced during their flight on Wednesday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Lufthansa Flight 469 from Austin, Texas to Frankfurt, Germany had to be diverted to Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. after the flight crew reported "severe turbulence" while they were flying 37,000 feet altitude over Tennessee, the FAA told PEOPLE in a statement. The agency said that the plane eventually landed around 9:10 p.m. at Dulles International Airport "without incident." They are currently investigating what happened. Seven people were transported to the hospital for injuries, though the FAA did not give any details on their condition. ModerMuna Twitter JetBlue Plane Nearly Collides with Private Jet at Boston's Logan Airport: 'Close Call' Photos taken from the flight showed paper, food containers and other items scattered messily in the aisle after the turbulence occurred. "People who didn't have the seat belts fastened got hurt mostly cause it came as surprise without seat belt sign on," recalled Stryker Fadhel, whose wife was on the flight. "Lighting hit [and] the plane badly went 1,000 ft. down and up, the pilot said." Lufthansa did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PEOPLE. ModerMuna Twitter Turbulence is defined as "an irregular motion of the air resulting from eddies and vertical currents" associated with fronts, wind shear, thunderstorms or other weather events, according to the National Weather Service. Getty Images The agency said severe turbulence can cause "large and abrupt changes in altitude" and "large variations in indicated airspeed" which can make passengers "be forced violently against their seat belts." It said the plane can be "momentarily out of control." RELATED Video: 36 People Injured After 'Severe Turbulence' on Hawaiian Airlines Flight: 'There Was No Warning' In December, 36 passengers were injured during a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Phoenix to Honolulu after it encountered "severe turbulence." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The airplane was at an altitude of about 36,000 feet when it hit a pocket of unstable air, sending unbuckled passengers and unsecured objects airborne, according to multiple reports. Passenger injuries included lacerations, bruising, loss of consciousness and at least one serious head injury, according to local news station, KHON2 News.