Five people had to be rushed to the hospital after their American Airlines flight suffered “unexpected turbulence” over the weekend, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Flight 1286, an Airbus A321, was traveling from Miami to Raleigh-Durham when the turbulence started just as the crew started to service the cabin.

Three flight attendants and two passengers were taken to a local hospital for evaluation after emergency services met the plane on the runway just after it landed at around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, said an American Airlines statement, according to CNN.

The seat belt sign was on when the flight encountered turbulence, the airline added.

Laptops, cellphones and headphones were all sent flying by the sudden change in altitude, leaving passengers physically and emotionally shaken, one passenger said.

“I would say it was absolutely horrific. People thought that they were going to lose their lives,” one passenger, who asked to remain anonymous, told WRAL.

Others claimed that it took the pilot too long to let passengers know what was going on, and said a flight attendant suffered a broken arm while another was burned by hot water from the drinks cart.

“It took way too long for the captain to address what happened,” one woman said. “There were injured people aboard the aircraft. He should have stopped at the closest airport instead of flying another hour and 10 minutes were two people were in need of immediate medical attention.”

The passenger also questioned the airline’s explanation of turbulence.

“They wouldn’t have been serving drinks if they knew turbulence was coming,” she said. 

“They were carrying hot water. I mean, there was ice flying everywhere, soda cans, cups. People that were by the carts, they just had things flying in every direction.”

The passenger claimed to have seen lightning outside of the aircraft at the time of the incident.

“Turbulence doesn’t do this. I mean, I fly all the time. I’ve never experienced something like this.” She and other passengers reported seeing lightning outside the plane at the time. “We’re all looking at each other like, no, it was definitely not turbulence,” the passenger said. “We definitely saw lightning.”

American Airlines did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

Another described scenes on board the flight as “pure chaos” for those on board.

“It was just a very, very very scary experience. I think everybody was very shaken up,” a second unidentified passenger told WRAL.

“It was like being on the top of a roller coaster and going down. It sounded like we hit something and then we just dropped in the air,” a third added.

Another passenger was in the restroom when the turbulence began.

“I think I might have been in the absolutely worst place in the entire airplane when it happened. I am just holding onto the faucet and the edge of the sink, like just whatever I could find,” Cameron Autry told WRAL.

All five injured in the turbulence have since been released from the hospital, the American Airlines statement said.