Passengers, Crew Members Injured During Severe Turbulence on Flight to Hawaii

A Hawaiian Airlines flight experienced severe turbulence on Sunday, leaving at least 20 people injured, including three crew members.

According to Reuters.com, Hawaiian Airlines Flight 35 was en route from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu with 278 passengers and 10 crew members on board when the pilots reported experiencing severe turbulence.

ADVERTISING

The Federal Aviation Administration said the Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330 was around 30 minutes away from landing in Honolulu when the incident occurred. The flight crew declared an emergency and the plane was able to land safely at about 10:50 a.m. local time.

Once safely on the ground, emergency responders were on the scene and treated 36 people, with 13 being transported to local hospitals, including three crew members.

“We apologize to our guests for this incident and thank our crew members, first responders, hospital personnel and airport teams for their coordinated response,” Hawaiian Airlines said in a statement. “Hawaiian is conducting a thorough inspection of the aircraft before returning it to service.”

“We feel it’s fortunate that there were not any deaths or other critical injuries,” the statement continued. “And we’re also very hopeful that all will recover and make a full recovery, and our thoughts are with all of them and their families. It was a team response today.”

Hawaiian Airlines COO Jon Snook said injuries sustained by passengers and crew members included head lacerations, bumps, bruises and loss of consciousness, with several others experiencing nausea and vomiting. Snook said the seatbelt sign was on at the time of turbulence.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board have launched an investigation into the incident.

For the latest travel news, updates and deals, be sure to subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter here.