© HHHNewzSeveral passengers could be seen wearing neck braces after being slammed into the ceiling of the aircraft in which they were traveling on Sunday morning
Passengers were nearing the end of their seven-hour flight from Phoenix to Honolulu on Sunday morning when many were thrown out of their seats.
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.
It was confirmed that 11 people were seriously hurt, including several children and a 14-month-old baby. Nine others suffered from minor injuries and from those seven decided to take the bus to hospital for further treatment.
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
Another passenger could be seen being wheeled out of Honolulu airport wearing a neck brace
© @Twitter/lynnxxyOne Twitter user posted video of some of the damage done to the roof of the cabin which appear to have been smashed into as people hit the ceiling as the plane suddenly dropped
© FlightAwareNational Weather Service believes the turbulence may have been caused by the flight passing through a thunderstorm with a cold front bringing strong winds
Those hurt onboard included both passengers and three members of the flight crew on Flight 35. Each sustained a variety of injuries, including serious head injuries, cuts and bruises when they crashed into the plane's ceiling panels and overhead bins.
One person is believed to have broken their neck due to the severity of the turbulence.
Footage shot by cellphone from inside the Airbus A330 aircraft show oxygen masks dangling from above 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.
Of the injured individuals, 20 were taken to the emergency room, with 11 in serious condition and nine in stable condition.
© APAt 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
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 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.'
One passenger took to social media following the ordeal, describing it as the 'scariest flying experience' they had ever endured.
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