Global Courant
At least seven people on a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Honolulu to Sydney required medical attention when the plane ran into severe turbulence last week
HONOLULU — A Hawaiian Airlines flight from Honolulu to Sydney ran into severe turbulence, leading to medical care for at least seven people on board.
The plane was carrying 163 passengers and 12 crew members when it encountered turbulence five hours into Thursday’s flight, officials told Hawaii News Now. The aircraft was inspected after landing safely in Sydney.
Four passengers and three flight attendants required medical attention from an onboard doctor, the Honolulu television station reported.
Airline representatives did not immediately return emails on Monday asking for an update.
“The plane just dropped,” passenger Sultan Baskonyali told ABC News. “We were not prepared.”
She described a man who shot up, hit his head against the ceiling, and fell back down.
Last year, severe turbulence injured 25 people on board a Hawaiian Airlines flight. Four passengers and two crew members were seriously injured. The aircraft sustained minor damage.
The captain of the Dec. 18 flight from Phoenix to Honolulu told investigators that conditions were smooth with clear skies when a cloud lifted in front of the plane, and there was no time to change course, according to a report from the United States. National Transportation Security Council.
Hawaiian Airlines Chief Operating Officer Jon Snook said at the time that such turbulence is unusual, noting that the airline had not experienced anything like it in recent history. The sign to fasten seat belts was on at the time, although some of the injured were not wearing them, he said.
According to the NTSB report, it happened about 40 minutes before landing in Honolulu.
