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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Liam Buckler

Terrifying footage emerges after dozens injured on rocky Hawaiian Airlines flight

This is the terrifying moment 36 passengers were left with head injuries after a Hawaiian Airlines flight hit severe turbulence.

The frightening footage was captured on a flight from Phoenix to Hawaii, US, on Sunday morning as passengers flew out of their seats and hit their heads on the plane ceiling.

The turbulence happened 30 minutes outside of Honolulu and led to 11 passengers sustaining serious injuries.

Twenty passengers were taken to hospital and 9 people are said to be in a stable condition following the traumatic flight.

Passenger Kaylee Reyes revealed how her mum smashed her head on the ceiling during the turbulence.

Passengers were rushed to hospital after hitting the plane ceiling (Hawaii News Now)
Emergency services met the flight as soon as it landed (Hawaii News Now)

Kaylee told Hawaii News Now her mum had failed to buckle her seatbelt, which caused her to hit the ceiling as the turbulence came out of "nowhere."

According to eyewitnesses passengers were left bleeding and some people in the back of the plane suffered broken necks.

Passenger Jazmin Bitanga told Hawaii News Now: "I turned around and there was a couple of people bleeding and just bracing themselves. Just all around me there were people crying."

The user, who uploaded the footage to Twitter, suffered only minor injuries wrote: "I hope they all recover soon as this was a very traumatic event."

The force from the turbulence caused the ceiling to crack after a metal water bottle struck it (Instagram)

The flight, which had 278 passengers onboard and 10 crew members, landed at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport and was met by emergency services.

Jon Snook, Hawaiian Air CEO and executive vice president told reporters that the 'fasten seatbelt' was on at the time of the incident and three crew members were among those injured.

He said: "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.

"We’re very thankful the extent of the injuries was not critical. It could have been worse."

Passengers and crew were left with serious head injuries and cuts while others lost consciousness.

Hawaii Airlines said in a statement: "HA35 from PHX to HNL encountered severe turbulence and landed safely in HNL at 10:50 a.m. today.

"Medical care was provided to several guests and crew members at the airport for minor injuries while some were swiftly transported to local hospitals for further care.

A Hawaiian Airlines flight from Phoenix suffered severe turbulence around 30 minutes before landing (Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

"We are supporting all affected passengers and employees and are continuing to monitor the situation."

According to the National Weather Service, the severe turbulence occurred at around 36,000 feet - believed to be around 30 minutes before landing at Honolulu International Airport.

NWS meteorologist Genki Kino said: "We believe the flight may have gone through a thunderstorm, which may have caused the severe turbulence. During that time, there were scattered thunderstorms everywhere."

An investigation into the incident will be conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration.

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