Turbulent United Flight Tosses Baby From Mother's Arms, Injures 5

Severe turbulence on a United Airlines flight pulled a baby from its mother’s arms and injured five people, one critically, during the flight from Denver to Billings, Mont., on Monday.

The baby was thrown into a nearby seat but was unharmed, according to the Denver Post.

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Those hurt included three crew members and two passengers. Most were treated and released, but a flight attendant remained in the hospital in critical condition.

The incident terrified passengers, who were pulled out of their seats. One woman hit the ceiling hard enough to crack the panel above her, passengers told KTVQ in Montana.

There were 114 passengers and five crew members on United Flight 1676, which hit turbulence just as it was about to land.

The captain of the Boeing 737 declared a medical emergency.

"I thought 'Wow! Yeah, this is it,'" United Flight 1676 Passenger Kerri Mullins told USA Today. "It's the most helpless feeling ever — to just be sitting there and not have any control over anything."

The airline issued a statement after the incident, saying, "Our primary focus is assisting our employees and passengers who were injured, and our flight safety team will review what happened."

Turbulence injures about 32 people a year in the United States, with most of them being crew members.

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