Two injured on flight while responding to 'mid air collision warning'

Two people were injured on a United Airlines flight as the pilots 'slowed its descent' in attempt to respond to a midair collision warning.

The United trip, a Boeing 757 flight 2428 from Newark to San Francisco, was at cruising altitude over Wyoming on Thursday when the action took place. 

The pilots were attempting to respond to what's known as a Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) alert, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. 

A TCAS is the 'last defense against midair collisions' according to the National Business Aviation Association. 

The fasten seatbelt sign was on at the time, according to a spokesperson for United Airlines.

One of the passengers was out of their seat at the time despite that. 

Two passengers were injured in the incident, including one suffering what was categorized as 'serious' injuries.

Both were transported to a hospital for their injuries. Their condition beyond that is unknown.

'United flight 2428 was descending to SFO on Sept. 19 with the seatbelt sign on when it slowed its descent to account for another aircraft at a lower altitude,' a spokesperson for United told DailyMail.com in a statement.

'We’re grateful to our crew for their efforts to ensure the safety of our employees and customers.' 

The FAA is categorizing the incident as an accident, according to Aviation Herald. 

The flight continued on its way to San Francisco and was able to land safety, they added.

It's the second time in a month passengers have been injured on a United Airlines flight. 

Seven people were injured after severe turbulence forced a United flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Chicago to divert to Tennessee in August 

One plane passenger, who has not been identified, was in a non-critical condition when taken to a hospital after the flight landed at Memphis International Airport, United and the Memphis Fire Department said in separate statements.

The turbulence happened while the airplane's seat belt sign was on, United said. 

Data from FlightRadar24 revealed that the plane began to turn towards Memphis at around 2:30pm.  It looped once south of the city, before turning over the city's centre and landing at the airport around 20 minutes later. 

The Memphis Fire Department said while one person was hospitalised, six other people declined treatment and transport to the hospital, but the extent of their injuries was not known.