Details are emerging and the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating what happened to Flight HA35 on Sunday when the plane hit severe turbulence and 36 people were injured in what an Hawaiian Airlines official called an isolated and unusual event.
The flight left Phoenix at about 7 a.m. local time and landed in Honolulu at 10:46 a.m.
Jon Snook, the airline's chief operating officer, said the airline hasn't experienced “an incident of this nature in recent history.” The flight was full, carrying 278 passengers and 10 crew members, he said in a news conference Sunday afternoon.
According to Flightradar24, the plane was an Airbus A330-200.
Jim Ireland, director of Honolulu Emergency Medical Services, said 36 people were taken to hospitals, including 11 in serious condition.
At least one person was reportedly knocked unconscious, but all the injured passengers were awake and talking when they arrived at hospitals, he said.
Flightradar24 data shows the flight's ground speed and altitude:
Just over six hours into the recording of the flight data, the plane dropped about 800 feet in in 12 seconds. Shortly after, the Airbus A330-200 began its descent and the crew declared an emergency because of the number of injuries on board, Snook said. Air traffic controllers gave the flight priority to land.
Snook said three flight attendants were among those taken to hospitals.
Passenger Kaylee Reyes told Hawaii News Now that her mother had just sat down and did not have a chance to buckle her safety belt when the turbulence hit.
“She flew up and hit the ceiling,” Reyes said.
Thomas Vaughan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu, said there had been a weather advisory for thunderstorms that included Oahu and areas that would have included the flight path at the time.
The airline was aware of the weather forecast and the unstable air and weather conditions but had no warning the particular patch of air where the turbulence occurred "was in any way dangerous,” Snook said.
SOURCE: Flightradar24
Contributing: The Associated Press