Passengers have described the “terrifying” extreme turbulence that injured 11 people on a Hawaiian Airlines flight on Sunday (18 December).
The incident happened approximately half an hour before the Phoenix to Honolulu plane landed, with the aircraft at 36,000 feet when severe turbulence hit.
Passenger Tiffany Reyes had just returned to her seat from the toilet when the Hawaiian Airlines flight “dipped”, she told AP News.
Ms Reyes was later told she’d “flown into the ceiling and slammed into the ground.” When lying on the aisle floor, the passenger looked up at “caved-in ceiling panels and a cracked bathroom sign that was hanging.”
“That’s the most terrifying experience I’ve been through in my whole 40 years of life,” AP News reports Ms Reyes later said, adding that she also spotted another passenger covered in blood with cuts on her head.
Passenger Jacie Hayata Ano told KHON-TV: “It was just rocky. And then, it quickly just escalated to the point where we’re shaking so much that we were pretty much like floating off of our chairs.”
“Just all around me, there were people crying,” fellow traveller Jazmin Bitanga explained to Hawaii News Now.
In a video shared by Fox News, a flight attendant onboard the plane can be heard asking over the intercom: “Ladies and gentleman, attention onboard: Do we have any trained medical personnel? Do we have any doctors, nurses, firefighters”.
The Airbus A330 aircraft was carrying 278 passengers and 10 crew members.
Of the 36 people attended to by emergency responders, at least 13 were taken to hospital, with 11 deemed seriously injured.
It has been reported the youngest passenger sent to hospital was a one year-old, with Oahu authorities saying the injuries ranged from minor bruises to lacerations and loss of consciousness.
“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,” said Jim Ireland, director of the Honolulu Emergency Medical Services.
According to a Hawaiian Airlines statement shared on 18 December, “thirteen passengers and three crew members were transported to to area hospitals for further care.”
“The airline is supporting all affected passengers and employees and will provide additional information as it becomes available,” the statement concludes.
The Independent has approached Hawaiian Airlines for further comment.
