Disturbing video footage has emerged showing the aftermath of severe turbulence on a Hawaiian Airlines flight that left 11 passengers severely injured.
The flight from Phoenix to Honolulu on Sunday was carrying many people traveling for the holidays, and hit intense turbulence shortly before landing, sending passengers flying from their seats as the plane nosedived.
Video of the aftermath shows passengers scrambling to secure luggage that had fallen from the overhead bins, as children can be heard wailing in the background.
A flight attendant is heard making an appeal over the intercom: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, attention onboard: do we have any trained medical personnel? Do we have any doctors, nurses, firefighters?’
In all, 36 people on board the plane received medical treatment for bumps, bruises, cuts and nausea. Twenty people were taken to hospitals, including 11 in serious condition.
![Disturbing video footage has emerged showing the aftermath of severe turbulence on a Hawaiian Airlines flight that left 11 passengers severely injured](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/19/16/65737187-11554637-image-m-11_1671466184980.jpg)
Disturbing video footage has emerged showing the aftermath of severe turbulence on a Hawaiian Airlines flight that left 11 passengers severely injured
‘We are also very happy, and we feel fortunate that there were not any deaths or other critical injuries. And we’re also very hopeful that all will recover and make a full recovery,’ said Jim Ireland, director of Honolulu Emergency Medical Services.
Kaylee Reyes on the plane with her mother, Tiffany Ann Reyes, who had just returned from the bathroom but had not yet had chance to refasten her seatbelt when she was suddenly flung into the air.
Explaining the panicked situation, she told Hawaii News Now: ‘The plane shook and then went into a sudden drop, kind of how you would if you were on a rollercoaster.
‘My mom wasn’t buckled and she flew up and hit the ceiling, then hit the floor.
‘There were several other people that hit their head. When we landed, paramedics came and had to wheel people out. Quite a few people had lacerations on their head and blood dripping down,’ she added.
Flight 35 from Phoenix to Honolulu was about half an hour from landing but was still at its cruising altitude of 36,000 feet with the seatbelt sign illuminated when it passed through what has been described as a ‘rare’ pocket of turbulence.
![Overhead bins flew open in the severe turbulence, which also sent some passengers flying out of their seats and crashing into the ceiling of the aircraft](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/19/16/65737189-11554637-image-m-14_1671466264282.jpg)
Overhead bins flew open in the severe turbulence, which also sent some passengers flying out of their seats and crashing into the ceiling of the aircraft
![Several plastic ceiling panels broke away from the plane's interior with some cracking on impact](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/19/06/65721767-11553177-Several_plastic_ceiling_panels_broke_away_from_the_plane_s_inter-a-83_1671432064700.jpg)
Several plastic ceiling panels broke away from the plane’s interior with some cracking on impact
![Kaylee Reyes (pictured) and Tiffany Ann Reyes were on the Hawaiian Airlines plane that hit turbulence.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/19/06/65722901-11553177-image-a-82_1671432024295.jpg)
![Kaylee Reyes and Tiffany Ann Reyes (pictured) were on the Hawaiian Airlines plane that hit turbulence.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/19/06/65722903-11553177-image-m-81_1671432016868.jpg)
Kaylee, left, and her mother Tiffany Ann Reyes, right, were on the Hawaiian Airlines plane that hit turbulence on Sunday
At a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Jon Snook, the Chief Operating Officer of Hawaiian Airlines confirmed that the seatbelt sign was on at the time.
He said it was the ‘worst case of turbulence’ that he had ever encountered during his seven years with the airline.
‘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,’ he said.
Among those hurt were three flight attendants, several children and a 14-month-old baby.
Alongside Reyes, fellow passengers briefly feared for their lives as the aircraft suddenly dropped.
‘My life flashed before my eyes. I was scared,’ said Jazmin Bitanga, who was on the plane flying back home for the holidays.
Bitanga described two ‘intense’ drops in altitude, one of which was so hard that her boyfriend’s water bottle smashed into the ceiling cracking the panel.
![Oxygen masks fell down from up above such was the severity of the turbulence](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/19/06/65721765-11553177-Oxygen_masks_fell_down_from_up_above_such_was_the_severity_of_th-a-84_1671432070868.jpg)
Oxygen masks fell down from up above such was the severity of the turbulence
![At a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Jon Snook, the Chief Operating Officer of Hawaiian Airlines confirmed that the seatbelt sign was on at the time noting how it was the 'worst case of turbulence' that he had ever encountered during his seven years with the airline](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/19/02/65719475-11552423-image-a-32_1671417912484.jpg)
At a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Jon Snook, the Chief Operating Officer of Hawaiian Airlines confirmed that the seatbelt sign was on at the time noting how it was the ‘worst case of turbulence’ that he had ever encountered during his seven years with the airline
‘I started to look around and people were holding onto lights that had fallen into their laps. There was a couple of people bleeding and just bracing themselves,’ said Bitanga to Hawaii News Now.
‘Just all around me there were people crying.’
The full flight had nearly 300 people aboard and carried many passengers traveling to Hawaii for the holidays, like Jacie Hayata Ano, who was heading home.
‘It was just rocky,’ she told KHON-TV. ‘And then, it quickly just escalated to the point where we’re shaking so much that we were pretty much like floating off of our chairs.’
Passenger Jodette Neely told NBC’s Today show that she saw people hitting their heads on the aircraft’s ceiling.
Snook said an investigation would also address precisely what the passengers and crew were doing 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.
![Another passenger could be seen being wheeled out of Honolulu airport wearing a neck brace](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/19/16/65718137-11554637-Another_passenger_could_be_seen_being_wheeled_out_of_Honolulu_ai-a-15_1671466415067.jpg)
Another passenger could be seen being wheeled out of Honolulu airport wearing a neck brace
![Several passengers could be seen wearing neck braces after being slammed into the ceiling of the aircraft in which they were traveling on Sunday morning](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/19/01/65718135-11552423-image-m-25_1671412811870.jpg)
Several passengers could be seen wearing neck braces after being slammed into the ceiling of the aircraft in which they were traveling on Sunday morning
!['Although initially we thought there were some patients with critical injuries, after further assessment it turns out they weren't that severely injured, which was great,' Honolulu EMS Director Dr. Jim Ireland, pictured, said](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/19/01/65718157-11552423-image-a-20_1671412690576.jpg)
‘Although initially we thought there were some patients with critical injuries, after further assessment it turns out they weren’t that severely injured, which was great,’ Honolulu EMS Director Dr. Jim Ireland, pictured, said
The Airbus A330-200 began its descent immediately after the turbulence and crew declared an emergency due to the number of injuries on board, he said. Air traffic controllers gave the flight priority to land.
The aircraft will undergo a thorough inspection and maintenance, mostly to fix components in the cabin, Snook explained.
Snook said he could only speculate whether some passengers hit their heads, but that was likely based on the injuries and the damage to cabin paneling.
‘If you don’t have your seatbelt on, you stay where you are as the aircraft goes down and that’s how those injuries occur,’ Snook said.
The investigation will examine what other measures were taken, aside from turning on the fasten seatbelt sign, to ensure passengers were buckled in, he said.
Those hurt onboard included both passengers and three flight attendants.
Each sustained a variety of injuries, including serious head trauma, cuts and bruises when they crashed into the plane’s ceiling panels and overhead bins.
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/19/16/65717903-11554637-image-a-16_1671466423352.jpg)
National Weather Service believes the turbulence may have been caused by the flight passing through a thunderstorm with a cold front bringing strong winds
![A Hawaiian Airlines flight from Phoenix, Arizona to Honolulu, Hawaii experienced severe turbulence approximately 30 minutes before landing on Sunday, resulting in the injury of at least 20 people, 11 of whom were seriously hurt (file photo)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/19/16/63703081-11554637-A_Hawaiian_Airlines_flight_from_Phoenix_Arizona_to_Honolulu_Hawa-a-17_1671466466771.jpg)
A Hawaiian Airlines flight from Phoenix, Arizona to Honolulu, Hawaii experienced severe turbulence approximately 30 minutes before landing on Sunday, resulting in the injury of at least 20 people, 11 of whom were seriously hurt (file photo)
Footage shot by cellphones from inside show oxygen masks dangling from above together with a number of plastic ceiling panels cracked having been smashed into by those onboard.
Emergency services, including firefighters, ambulance crews, and the state Aircraft Rescue Firefighting Team, were called to the airport to respond to the ‘mass casualty emergency’ that occurred around 11am.
‘Although initially we thought there were some patients with critical injuries, after further assessment it turns out they weren’t that severely injured, which was great,’ Honolulu EMS Director Dr. Jim Ireland said.
During Sunday afternoon’s press conference, the airline’s COO, Snook, sounded relieved as he told how all those who were injured will survive.
‘Our flying procedures are built to avoid these things at all times and this is obviously an isolated incident. This is very regrettable and associated with the weather pattern that is coming through the islands. We don’t know the specifics of whether it happened during the descent or just before, but the seatbelt sign was on.’
Snook who has worked in the airline industry for almost 30 years said it was the ‘worst case of turbulence’ in the time he had worked for Hawaiian Airlines but stressed the unexpected nature of the incident.
‘We fly through difficult weather all the time so it’s unfortunate that this happened today. We will work closely with the NTSB and help them with whatever they need to know. We will also examine the flight data recorder to determine exactly how much altitude was lost.’
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