Passengers experienced ‘hard jolt,’ then ‘free fall’ on turbulent flight. Investigators point finger at pilots

By Alexandra Skores, CNN

(CNN) — As they were coming in for a landing, a “plume” of bad weather suddenly appeared in front of Hawaiian Airlines pilots who hit severe turbulence just seconds later. Dozens of passengers were injured.

Passengers experienced a “hard jolt” and then a “free fall” sensation.

One passenger crawled back to their seat during the incident.

Phones, jackets and water bottles “floated” around passengers and “two hard hits” occurred during the incident.

The details from the 2022 incident near Kahului, Hawaii, are described in a just-released National Transportation Safety Board final report which faults the pilots for flying over the plume instead of going around it.

“We regularly train our crews on significant weather avoidance, including in-air turbulence,” Hawaiian Airlines said in a statement. “Following Flight 35, we conducted a thorough internal review and cooperated with the NTSB to understand the factors that led the aircraft to encounter stronger than anticipated and reported turbulence. We will continue to learn as much as we can from this event.”

Prior CNN reporting from the incident says 36 people were injured with 20 going to the hospital.

According to the NTSB’s final report, before Hawaiian Airlines flight 35, flying on an Airbus 330-299, departed Phoenix and headed for Honolulu, the captain was informed of “potential turbulence and embedded convective activity” over the Hawaiian Islands.

After a mostly uneventful flight, the pilots described a “plume” appearing vertically in front of the aircraft filled with 283 passengers.

“It’s building fast,” one pilot said.

The crew called the lead flight attendant onboard, but within a few seconds, the airplane lurched. The lead flight attendant was never able to alert the other seven flight attendants.

“Flight attendants and passengers who were not restrained were thrown upward, impacting the ceiling or baggage compartments above them, and then downward onto the floor. A passenger who had left her seat to go to the lavatory reported that she felt the airplane shake; she then ‘flew’ face first into lavatory ceiling and was ‘thrown abruptly’ onto the floor,” the report says, noting the plane experienced vertical accelerations twice the force of gravity.

One flight attendant ended up with serious injuries, and three had minor injuries. A 14-month-old child was also among the passengers injured and later transported to the hospital.

Investigators said prior to this flight, there were only seven reports of minor turbulence in the area, but the agency also said the National Weather Service had forecast the potential for unstable atmosphere and flying conditions, meaning the flight crew was aware of what could occur along its route.

Honolulu Emergency Medical Services told CNN that the patients’ injuries included a serious head injury, lacerations, bruising and loss of consciousness.

One passenger was out of her seat to go to the bathroom and said she felt the airplane shake then flew face first into the bathroom ceiling before she was thrown onto the floor. She had to crawl back to her seat.

The storm was later identified as a Kona storm, which brings heavy rainfall and strong winds to Hawaii from the Southwest.

A voice recorder in the cockpit recorded pilots saying after the turbulence that they should have “gone around.” The NTSB lists the probable cause of the incident as “the flight crew’s decision to fly over an observed storm cell instead of deviating around it despite sufficient meteorological information” that there was the potential for severe weather.

The seatbelt sign was turned on before the event. However, the captain never made another announcement about the turbulence, potentially contributing to more passenger injuries, the NTSB said.

Injuries were treated by flight attendants and trained passengers.

The captain had over 12,000 hours of flying time and nearly 6,000 hours on the same make and model plane.

Damage occurred throughout the cabin, including a passenger service unit that fell from an overhead carrier and missing ceiling panels. More damage occurred throughout the plane, including a flight attendant handset and exit signs.

Hawaiian Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but previously told CNN it was “supporting all affected passengers and employees.”

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