Bumpy Skies In California

Rough turbulence injured 15 people and sent passengers flying out of their seats on a United Airlines shuttle flight to San Francisco, while another plane that lost a wheel landed safely at Ontario Airport.

United Airlines Shuttle Flight 2036 had taken off from Los Angeles when it encountered the turbulence 24,000 feet above Santa Barbara.

"Everybody went straight to the ceiling," passenger Ronald Kalio said. "There was two stewardesses that spent the rest of the trip in the aisles. They were knocked out."

The seat belt light was not on, United spokesman Joe Hopkins said. The Boeing 737 was carrying 107 passengers and five crew members.

The jet continued to San Francisco International Airport and landed safely less than an hour after takeoff, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Most of the injuries involved sprains and cuts, United spokesman Matt Triaca said. Thirteen passengers and one flight attendant were treated at hospitals and released. Another flight attendant was kept overnight at a hospital with a head injury and was in stable condition, he said.

In Ontario, the Sacramento-bound Southwest Airlines jet lost a rear wheel on takeoff from Burbank and was forced to make an emergency landing at Ontario Airport using its five remaining wheels. No injuries were reported.

Southwest Flight 253 was carrying 132 people when it took off from Burbank, airline spokeswoman Carol Pearson said.

The left rear outside wheel fell off immediately and crashed into a baggage loading vehicle and a United Airlines jet parked at a nearby gate. That flight to Denver was canceled.

"Shortly after the aircraft lifted off, I noticed that there was one of the main wheels from the main landing gear rolling at a high rate of speed down the runway," said Mark Haryment, an airport operations manager at Burbank.

It was unclear when the pilots knew the wheel was missing but they were able to land safely 1 1/2 hours later about 45 miles southeast of Burbank, Pearson said.

"Landing without one wheel, it was an exceptional landing," said passenger Sandy Sarber. "The pilots received a standing ovation. Well, a sitting ovation."