At least 20 people were injured to varying degrees due to turbulence aboard a Hawaiian Airlines plane flying from the US city of Phoenix, DIP reports citing the Daily Mail.
Passengers were nearing the end of a seven-hour flight from Phoenix to Honolulu on Dec. 18 morning when many were thrown out of their seats, according to the outlet. Among the injured on board were both passengers and three crew members. Each of them suffered various injuries, including serious head injuries, cuts, and bruises, when they crashed into the ceiling panels and upper containers of the aircraft.
Of those injured, 20 were taken to the emergency room, with 11 in serious condition and nine in stable condition. According to Hawaiian Airlines, 278 passengers and ten crew members were on board the plane.
Hawaiian Airlines COO John Snook confirmed that the seatbelt sign was on at that point, noting that it was the “worst case of turbulence” he had ever experienced in his seven years with the airline.
Mobile phone footage inside the Airbus A330 shows oxygen masks dangling from above, and a series of plastic ceiling panels cracked from impacts from those on board.
Emergency services, including firefighters, ambulance crews, and the state aviation rescue fire brigade, were called to the airport to respond to the mass injury emergency, which occurred around 11 a.m.
“While we initially thought there were some patients with critical injuries, after further evaluation it turned out that they were not so seriously injured, which is very good,” said Honolulu emergency director Dr. Jim Ireland.