Incident Details
An aircraft was flying parallel to a line of thunderstorms, needing to reach its destination on the other side. The center controller suggested that the pilot reverse course to fly around the closer end of the line. Instead, the pilot decided to penetrate the line. According to the pilot, the aircraft was between two thunderstorm cells at least 45 nautical miles apart when it ran into severe turbulence. The aircraft lost 500 feet of altitude during the encounter.
Injuries
Two flight attendants were injured during the turbulence. They had been instructed to sit down earlier but did not have time to strap in. Additionally, a passenger who was heading to the lavatory refused to sit down when instructed by the flight attendants and was also injured during the turbulence encounter.