"I thought we were going down,” said passenger Jordan Case of Plano, Texas.
American flight 206 left Miami at 3:03 pm local time bound for Milan, but was diverted and landed at St. John's International Airport, in Newfoundland Canada at 9:45 pm NT.
About four hours into the flight, the plane suddenly dropped and rolled toward one side, Case said.
He said people were screaming and crying as flight attendants scrambled to help other injured flight attendants and passengers at the back of the plane, Toronto-based the Canadian Press reported.
American Airlines spokesman Kent Powell said the flight “briefly encountered severe turbulence” at a time the seat belt light was on.
“Three flight attendants and four passengers were transported to a local hospital for further evaluation,” he said in a statement.
“We are taking care of our passengers and crew, and we are working on next steps to get them safely to their destination.”
The plane had 192 passengers and 11 crew on board.
Passengers said it was mostly flight crew and passengers at the back of the aircraft who were the worst hurt.
Capt. Bertrand Lecocq, the pilot, said the rough air was likely from the remnants of the massive storm that just hit the Northeastern US.
He could not comment on the extent of injuries. He said he had never experienced an incident quite like it.
“It was not pleasant.”
Passengers were taken to hotels for the night in St. John’s.