HONOLULU — Nearly a dozen people were seriously injured when a flight to Hawaii was rocked by severe turbulence on Sunday about 30 minutes outside Honolulu, an emergency response agency said.
Eleven people were hospitalized in serious condition and nine others were in stable condition, the Honolulu Emergency Medical Services said in a statement. It said a call came in shortly after 11 a.m. about the injuries on a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Phoenix. Responders treated 36 people and of those, 20 people were transported for further medical treatment.
The statement said the wounds included a serious head injury, lacerations, bruising and loss of consciousness.
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.
Jazmin Bitanga, who was on the flight, shared pictures on Instagram of the aftermath on the plane.
Hawaiian Airlines in a statement said 13 passengers and three crew members were taken to area hospitals for further care. The airline said the plane was carrying 278 passengers and 10 crewmembers and landed safely in Honolulu about 10:50 a.m.
The differing number of injuries could not immediately be reconciled. The airline said it plans to hold a news conference later Sunday.
Thomas Vaughan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu, said there had been a weather advisory out for thunderstorms that included Oahu and areas that would have included the flight path at the time of the incident.
Hawaiian Airlines sent the following statement Sunday night:
"Hawaiian Airlines is continuing to support the 17 passengers and three crewmembers who sustained injuries today after flight 35 from Phoenix to Honolulu encountered severe turbulence. The Airbus A330 aircraft carrying 278 passengers and 10 crewmembers landed safely in Honolulu about 10:50 a.m. We apologize to our guests for this incident and thank our crewmembers, first responders, hospital personnel, and airport teams for their coordinated response. Hawaiian is conducting a thorough inspection of the aircraft before returning it to service."
This is a developing story. Stay with ABC15 and abc15.com for the latest updates.
