A dog was on the Lufthansa flight from Austin, Texas, to Frankfurt, Germany, that was forced to make an emergency landing in Washington, DC, on Wednesday evening after hitting severe turbulence that injured seven people.
It took hours for the dog's owner to learn that the pup — a goldendoodle named Arlo — was OK.
Garrett Stuteville, who lives in Singapore, told Insider that his dog was traveling from Texas to Singapore and was set to have a layover in Frankfurt so he could get out of his cage for a few hours.
But after the plane landed at Dulles Airport, Stuteville said he hadn't heard from the airline or the airport for an update on Arlo.
"All we know is he is still locked in the cage, which is now going on 10-plus hours. And we don't know when the flight is supposed to leave," Stuteville told Insider. "We were told he could not be let out of the cage because of TSA screening rules. We just want to know that he is OK from someone who is there."
He added that he and his wife had hired a company in the US to "handle the transportation process" to get their dog from the States to Singapore. Stuteville said that the agent they'd hired had been able to get in touch with Lufthansa agents in Germany but that no representatives from Washington, DC, had been in touch.
Lufthansa later told Insider that the dog was unharmed and was flying to Singapore.
About 22 hours after the flight landed at Dulles, Stuteville confirmed with Insider that Arlo was unharmed.
"He was taken care of by the Lufthansa grounds crew at Dulles Airport," he said. "We received some pictures and he is going great."
Lufthansa Flight 469 was forced to land at Dulles Airport at about 9:10 p.m. on Wednesday, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said.
A Lufthansa spokesperson said the flight experienced "brief severe turbulence" about 90 minutes into its route, prompting the emergency landing.
"This was so-called clear air turbulence, which can occur without visible weather phenomena or advance warning," the spokesperson said.
They added that some passengers sustained "minor injuries" during the period of turbulence and were given care onboard.
The statement from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said at least seven people were injured and taken to the hospital because of the turbulence.
A man who said his wife was on the flight posted a photo on Twitter showing trash and food trays scattered in the aisle of the aircraft. He said the pilot told the passengers that lightning had struck the plane.
—Stryker Fadhel (@ModerMuna) March 2, 2023
Another passenger told The Washington Post that the plane went into "free fall" as flight attendants were handing out dinner.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement to Insider that it would investigate what happened.
March 2, 2023, 9:20 p.m. EST: This story was updated with additional comment from Garrett Stuteville.
