Severe turbulence rocked a flight from Phoenix to Honolulu on Sunday, seriously injuring 11 people in what a Hawaiian Airlines official called an isolated and unusual event.
Jon Snook, the airline’s chief operating officer, said the airline has not experienced “an incident of this nature in recent history.” The flight was full, with 278 passengers and 10 crew members, he said during an evening news conference.
Jim Ireland, director of Honolulu Emergency Medical Services, said 36 people received treatment, including those with nausea or minor injuries. He said 20 people were taken to hospitals, including 11 people considered to be in serious condition. Among the injured were three flight attendants, Snook said.
“We are also very pleased and feel fortunate that there have been no deaths or other critical injuries. And we’re also very hopeful that they all make a recovery and make a full recovery,” Ireland said.
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First qualityFirst qualityFirst qualityFirst qualityPassenger Kaylee Reyes told Hawaii News Now that her mother had just sat down when turbulence hit and she had no chance to buckle up.
“She flew up and hit the ceiling,” Reyes said. Snook said there was some internal damage to the aircraft during the turbulence. The seatbelt sign was on at the time, although some of the injured were not wearing them, he said. Thomas Vaughan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu, said there was a weather advisory for thunderstorms that included Oahu and areas that would have included the flight path at the time of the incident.
The airline was aware of the weather forecast and the unstable air and weather conditions, but had no warning that the particular area of air where the turbulence occurred “was somehow dangerous,” Snook said. He did not know at what altitude the plane was. lost during the turbulence, saying it would be part of an investigation involving the National Transportation Safety Board.
The plane’s flight data recorder would provide those details, he said. The Airbus A330-200 began its descent immediately after the turbulence and the crew declared an emergency due to the number of injuries on board, he said. Air traffic controllers gave the flight priority to land.
The aircraft will undergo extensive inspection and maintenance, primarily to repair components in the cockpit, Snook said. Snook said he could only speculate if some passengers hit their heads, but that was likely based on injuries and damage to cabin panels.
“If you’re not wearing your seatbelt, you stay where you are while the plane goes down and that’s how those injuries happen,” Snook said. The investigation will examine what other steps were taken, in addition to turning on the fasten seatbelt sign, to ensure passengers were buckled up, he said.
