Richard Sharp told the Houston Chronicle . Watch what happens when a plane drops '' `` The second one was the devastating one . That 's when the plane really fell , '' Fabio Ottolini of Houston , who with his wife and daughter was returning from a visit with family in Brazil , told affiliate KTRK-TV in Houston . `` While it was doing that , I saw people being thrown to the roof as if they were dolls . '' Aloiso Dias thought the plane dropped more than twice . `` I felt like I was on a roller coaster , '' he told WSVN-TV . `` I could n't even see what happened with my wife . I was just holding onto the front of the seat and going with the flow . '' He could n't see because the cabin lights had gone out and `` it was pitch black outside , '' Frederick Bright told the Houston Chronicle . `` I went up , and it was like I was in the air for a minute . Then I came down and I hit my back on the armrest , then I fell into the
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- People were `` thrown to the roof as if they were dolls '' and some feared for their lives when a Continental Airlines flight ran into turbulence , shaken passengers said . Oxygen masks hang from a damaged part of the plane Monday , in a photo by passenger Camila Machado . The turbulence struck without warning several hours into Monday 's Continental Flight 128 from Rio de Janeiro , Brazil , to Houston , Texas . The pilot diverted the Boeing 767-200 to Miami , Florida , to get treatment for the injured . Continental said seven passengers were transported to hospitals , and about 28 other passengers were treated at the scene . Lt. Elkin Sierra of the Miami-Dade Fire Department said 26 passengers were injured , including four seriously . `` The airplane came down very sharply , and all of us bumped our heads against the ceiling -- twice , '' Brazilian passenger Celi Dfaria told CNN affiliate WSVN-TV at Miami-Dade International Airport . `` It dropped so hard that everything in the seat-back pockets just flew up in the air . I caught my phone in my lap , '' passenger