Some three dozen people were injured, 11 of them seriously, on Sunday when a Hawaiian Airlines flight to Honolulu was hit by severe turbulence.
« : »Severe turbulence rocked a flight from Phoenix to Honolulu on Sunday, seriously injuring 11 people in what an Hawaiian Airlines official called an isolated and unusual event. Jon Snook, the airline’s chief operating officer, said the airline hasn’t experienced “an incident of this nature in recent history”. The flight was full, carrying 278 passengers and 10 crew members, he said. 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 deemed to be in serious condition. The injured included three flight attendants, Snook said. “We are also very happy and we feel fortunate that there were not any deaths or other critical injuries. And we’re also very hopeful that all will recover and make a full recovery,” Ireland said. Why China Eastern flight’s ‘black boxes’ are vital to investigation Passenger Kaylee Reyes told Hawaii News Now that her mother had just sat down when the turbulence hit and did not have a chance to buckle her safety belt. “She flew up and hit the ceiling,” Reyes said. Another passenger, Jazmin Bitanga, said that the plane experienced two “intense” altitude drops and that during one her boyfriend’s water bottle hit the ceiling so hard it caused a crack.
