American Air flight hit by storm, diverts to Tokyo

Tokyo

A US-bound American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Tokyo on Wednesday after hitting severe turbulence created by a strong winter storm, with several people taken to hospital for minor injuries.

American Airlines Flight 280, a Boeing 777-200 heading to Dallas/Fort Worth airport from Incheon in South Korea, was flying across Japan when the plane dropped suddenly and was rocked for 30 to 40 seconds, passengers said. "We were eating and all the food just flew up in the air and pretty much bounced off and fell. There were carts all over the place," one passenger told TV Tokyo when the aircraft landed shortly after midnight at Tokyo's Narita airport.