Advertisement Turbulence injures 7 on Pittsburgh-bound flight from Punta Cana Share Shares Copy Link Copy

An Allegiant Air flight bound for Pittsburgh from Punta Cana was diverted to Florida on Thursday afternoon after four crew members and three passengers were injured during turbulence.VIDEO: Watch Katelyn Sykes' report"We were flying normal, I was actually sleeping and I heard a little jolt and then all of a sudden a big jolt and I looked over at my mom and she was like flying up in the air," passenger Heather Osborne said. "I actually had my seat belt on, my mom didn't. I saw her flying in the air, she hit hear head and hit her hip area. Five injured people were taken to the hospital.""I have people's blood on my feet," said Amanda Kuhn, who was bruised during the turbulence. According to the airline, Flight 7001 was a charter service operated on behalf of Apple Vacations en route from Punta Cana International Airport to Pittsburgh International Airport when it was diverted to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport at approximately 1:37 p.m. after reports of severe turbulence and injuries to passengers.Flight 7001 landed safely in Fort Lauderdale at 2:43 p.m. Emergency medical personnel met the plane and cared for passengers and crew. There were 137 passengers and six crew members on board, according to the airline.The Broward County sheriff's office says the injuries weren't life-threatening. The most seriously hurt was a flight attendant who had head injuries.The airline arranged other flights for the passengers, but some opted to drive home.Four other Allegiant flights scheduled for Thursday had to be rescheduled to Friday because the plane was taken out of service for inspection to be sure there was no damage.Travelers heading out of Pittsburgh on Friday told Pittsburgh's Action News 4 that they heard about the incident and have also experienced turbulence on flights."It just depends on how rough the turbulence gets," traveler Jeff Vaughn said. "Sometimes it's pretty bad.""I just put my trust in the Lord and just let him take care of things," he said."I've been through some turbulence before on the smaller planes," traveler Tony Alaimo said. "It doesn't bother you. You just sit down and go and get to your destination and take your chance. The parkway is more dangerous then the airplanes."Get the WTAE Pittsburgh's Action News 4 App