Numerous passengers were hurt, some critically when a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Phoenix to Honolulu encountered “extreme turbulence” just before landing on Sunday.
36 patients were treated by paramedics and emergency medical technicians, 20 of whom were sent to the hospital, according to a statement from Honolulu Emergency Medical Services.
Jim Ireland, the director of the Honolulu Emergency Services Department, stated during a news conference that several people who were treated on the site for nausea or vomiting did not have injuries that need hospitalization.
Hawaiian Airlines reported that numerous passengers and staff members received minor injury treatment at the airport, while some were quickly taken to nearby hospitals for more care.
According to the emergency medical services, passengers experienced cuts to the head, bruising, and loss of consciousness. At the hospital, nine others had stable conditions, while eleven patients had critical conditions.
According to officials, 13 patients were transported to hospitals by ambulance and the remaining by municipal bus, both of which were escorted by paramedics and other medical personnel.
Two pilots, eight flight attendants, and 278 passengers made up the entire flight, according to Hawaiian Airlines Chief Operating Officer Jon Snook.
The turbulence was encountered as the aircraft was traveling at 36,000 feet. He stated he could only make assumptions at this stage regarding how many people were hurt because he did not yet know how much altitude the jet fell.
During a press conference held on Sunday in Hawaii, he stated: “Injuries occur when the airplane falls down and if you don’t have your seat belt on, you stay where you are while the aircraft goes down.” According to him, three of them who were transported to the hospital were flight attendants.
According to Kaylee Reyes, a passenger on the flight, the turbulence struck after her mother had just seated herself before fastening her seat belt.
Reyes said, “She soared up and hit the roof.
Jazmin Bitanga, a different passenger, told the news organization that there were two “strong” drops on the aircraft. She claimed that during one, her boyfriend’s metal water bottle shattered the ceiling after flying into it.
Social media users are sharing a picture of the plane’s ceiling that appears to have a gash and cracks in it.
People were sobbing “just all around me,” Bitanga said to Hawaii News Now.
According to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration, Flight 35 reported experiencing turbulence at 10:35 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time while en route from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.
The organization declared that it was looking into the matter.
The National Weather Service in Honolulu reportedly told the Associated Press that a weather advisory had been issued for thunderstorms early on Sunday morning in locations that would have included the plane’s flight path.
Such a severe episode of turbulence, according to Snook during the press conference, was “quite uncommon.”
We definitely haven’t had a situation like this in recent memory, he declared. He said that the specific air patch that resulted in the incident was not foreshadowed in any way.
Although it wasn’t immediately obvious how many passengers weren’t wearing seat belts, he said that the sign was on when the plane entered the air pocket.
According to Snook, there was no battle for control of the aircraft in the cockpit.
These planes are made to handle this kind of turbulence and are made to recover from it without any problems, he claimed.
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