Hawaiian Airlines Turbulence Injury Attorneys: Preliminary Investigation and Potential Causes
278 passengers and ten crew members were on board Hawaiian Airlines Flight 35 in Phoenix traveling to Hawaii. The incident happened on Sunday morning, 15 to 30 minutes before the HAF35 landed at Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the flight reported turbulence at around 10.35 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time.
The EMS and the American Medical Response responded swiftly to a “mass casualty emergency” at the Honolulu airport just after 11 a.m. Sunday.
“Medical care was provided to several guests and crew members at the airport for minor injuries, while some were swiftly transported to the local hospital for further care,” according to Hawaiian Airlines.
A teenager and a 14-month-old baby were among the 17 passengers and three crew members who were taken to the hospital.
The “fasten seatbelt” sign was on at the time of the incident, Hawaiian Air Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Snook informed reporters. “Sometimes, these air pockets occur with no warning. It’s rare to have that level of extreme turbulence. It was a very extreme case of mid-air turbulence,” said Snook.
The COO also added that he was grateful for the support the emergency services provided. He added that the weather conditions in Hawaii have been unstable recently, creating challenges for airlines.
One traveler reported to Hawaiian broadcaster KHON2 that although the severe turbulence only lasted a few seconds, it was long enough to cause injuries to the passengers.
“It was just rocky. And then, it quickly just escalated to, like, the point where we’re shaking so much that we were, like, pretty much floating off our chairs,” Jacie Hayata Ano said.
After the turbulence subsided, a crew member of the HAF35 came over the speaker system and requested any trained medical or military professionals to assist with the injured passengers, said Ano, who was unharmed.
“I’m thankful that there were people that stepped up and helped because some of the staff needed it…everyone was pretty much helping each other. Checking on each other and picking up stuff,” Jacie added.
“We believe that the flight may have gone through a thunderstorm, which may have caused the severe turbulence,” NWS meteorologist Genki Kino said. “During that time, there were scattered thunderstorms everywhere,” he added.
Snook said there was a lot of unstable air surrounding the islands. He, however, stressed that such severe turbulence is uncommon. Also, the airline managed to divert three other flights on Sunday due to a lack of visibility.
According to the airline, a “thorough inspection of the aircraft” is being done to determine what happened and how much altitude was lost before the plane is put back into service
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The National Transportation Safety Board and The Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the incident.
