United Airlines Regional Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Waco Due to Severe Turbulence, Injuring Five Passengers

On Sunday evening, a United Airlines regional flight operated by SkyWest Airlines made an emergency landing in Waco, Texas, following an encounter with severe turbulence. The flight, identified as SkyWest 5690, was en route from Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. The incident resulted in injuries to five passengers, according to officials.

The turbulence incident was reported by SkyWest Airlines, which stated that the Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft had to divert to Waco Regional Airport due to the severity of the situation. The airline confirmed that the affected passengers received medical attention upon landing. The flight had initially departed from Springfield-Branson National Airport at 4:48 p.m. Central Time, as per data from FlightAware.com.

In a related development, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is conducting an investigation into a series of false alarms from the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) reported by several airliners. These incidents occurred on Saturday morning as flights were approaching Washington Reagan National Airport. At least five flight crews reported receiving erroneous TCAS alerts, prompting concerns over the system’s reliability.

One such incident involved American Eagle flight 4469, operated by Republic Airways, which was on its final approach to Washington Reagan National Airport from Pittsburgh. The pilots received a TCAS alert while descending between 1,200 and 1,000 feet, instructing them to take evasive action. Air traffic control communications reviewed by CBS News indicated that the alerts were not corroborated by any visual sightings, raising questions about the cause of the false alarms. The FAA’s investigation aims to determine the underlying issues and ensure the safety of air travel.