AP

NTSB: Cloud shot up in front of plane before turbulence

Jan 13, 2023, 1:49 AM | Updated: Jan 14, 2023, 4:24 am

FILE - Jon Snook, chief operating officer of Hawaiian Airlines, speaks at a news conference at Dani...

FILE - Jon Snook, chief operating officer of Hawaiian Airlines, speaks at a news conference at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board released Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, says the pilots of a Hawaiian Air plane that hit severe turbulence last month told investigators they had less than three seconds to react after a cloud shot up vertically in front of them at 38,000 feet on an otherwise clear day. Twenty-five people were injured in the Dec. 13, 2022, incident, including six who were seriously hurt. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy, File)

(AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy, File)


              FILE - A Honolulu Police vehicle is parked outside of The Queen's Medical Center, where some patients injured by air turbulence on a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Phoenix to Honolulu were taken, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022, in Honolulu. A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board released Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, says the pilots of a Hawaiian Air plane that hit severe turbulence last month told investigators they had less than three seconds to react after a cloud shot up vertically in front of them at 38,000 feet on an otherwise clear day. Twenty-five people were injured in the Dec. 13, 2022, incident, including six who were seriously hurt. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy, File)
            
              FILE - Jon Snook, chief operating officer of Hawaiian Airlines, speaks at a news conference at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board released Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, says the pilots of a Hawaiian Air plane that hit severe turbulence last month told investigators they had less than three seconds to react after a cloud shot up vertically in front of them at 38,000 feet on an otherwise clear day. Twenty-five people were injured in the Dec. 13, 2022, incident, including six who were seriously hurt. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy, File)

HONOLULU (AP) — A cloud shot up vertically like a plume of smoke in a matter of seconds before a Hawaiian Airlines flight last month hit severe turbulence and 25 people on board were injured, according to a preliminary report Friday by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The captain of the Dec. 18 flight from Phoenix to Honolulu told investigators that flight conditions were smooth with clear skies when the cloud shot up in front of the plane and there was no time to change course, the report said. He called the lead flight attendant and told her there might be turbulence. Within one to three seconds, the plane “encountered severe turbulence,” the report states.

Shortly afterward, the lead flight attendant told the crew there were multiple injuries in the cabin.

Twenty-five of the 291 passengers and crew members on board were injured, including four passengers and two crew members who were seriously hurt, the report says. The plane sustained minor damage.

Tiffany Reyes, one of the passengers who were taken to hospitals, said the next day that she had just gotten back to her seat from the bathroom and was about to buckle her seatbelt when the flight dipped.

In an instant, Reyes said she found herself on the aisle floor, staring up at caved-in ceiling panels and a cracked bathroom sign that was hanging.

“I asked everyone around me, ‘Was that me?” Reyes said. “They said I had apparently flown into the ceiling and slammed into the ground.”

Reyes said she initially thought something had hit the plane and that it was crashing, and that she briefly thought they were going to die because she had never encountered anything so violent on a flight.

“That’s the most terrifying experience I’ve been through in my whole 40 years of life,” Reyes said.

Hawaiian Airlines Chief Operating Officer Jon Snook said at the time that such turbulence is unusual, noting that the airline had not experienced anything like it in recent history. The fasten-seatbelts sign was on at the time, though some of the injured were not wearing them, he said.

It happened about 40 minutes before landing in Honolulu, according to the report.

The report includes factual information but not a probable cause. That is typically included in the final report, which could take a year or two to complete.

An airline spokesperson declined to comment on the report Friday because the NTSB investigation is ongoing.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 23: Louis Gossett Jr. attends American Black Film Festival Hon...

Beth Harris, The Associated Press

Louis Gossett Jr., 1st Black man to win supporting actor Oscar, dies at 87

Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries “Roots,” has died. He was 87.

28 minutes ago

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

2 days ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

2 days ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

2 days ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

5 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

7 days ago

NTSB: Cloud shot up in front of plane before turbulence