Eight flyers hurt due to turbulence

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- An American Airlines flight from St. Louis to Fort Lauderdale struck severe turbulence Monday, injuring three flight attendants and five passengers, officials said.

No one was seriously hurt aboard American Airlines Flight 3120, but the injured flight attendants and a passenger were taken to Broward General Hospital.

Four other passengers were treated at the airport by paramedics, Broward County Fire Rescue spokesman Todd LeDuc said.

LeDuc said injured hurt their necks and backs when they struck the plane's interior or were hit by flying objects.

The Boeing 757, carrying 132 passengers and six crew members, was over Nashville, Tenn., when it hit turbulence, airline spokeswoman Martha Pantin said. It landed at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport at 4:30 p.m. and was boarded by paramedics.

Passenger Alan Platt of Boynton Beach said the pilot gave a turbulence warning about an hour into the flight as the flight attendants were serving food and drinks. He said the turbulence began seconds after his message ended.

"The plane was shaking. It did one of those boom things where it dropped. Everything went flying," Platt said.

"You don't want to know what went through my mind when the plane dropped," said Arlene Silver of Lake Worth.