Turbulence Takes Toll on DC-Bound Flight

Passenger hits ceiling, then floor

A woman said she bounced off the ceiling and then hit the floor when a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to the Washington area hit heavy turbulence.

Flight 236, with 177 passengers aboard, was about 150 miles from Dulles International Airport Tuesday night when the Boeing 757
encountered turbulence.

Jeanne Holton Carufel, 56, of Tampa, Fla., hurried back from the bathroom when the pilots turned on the fasten-seat-belt lights. But before she got to her seat, Holton Carufel said the plane took a dive and she hit the ceiling, then the floor. Paramedics took Holton Carufel to Reston Hospital Center, where she was treated for head and back injuries but was not admitted.

Holton Carufel stayed at a Washington hotel and expects to go home Thursday.

United Airlines confirmed the turbulence but did not offer details about the flight.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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