Three hospitalised after severe turbulence incident on flight to Sydney

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Edited by Travel Weekly


    Three people were hospitalised following a turbulence incident on a flight from Hawaii to Sydney.

    Hawaiian Airlines Flight HA451 hit severe turbulence about 5 hours into the flight from Honolulu to Sydney on Friday afternoon.

    The flight data history shows a sudden drop in altitude around the time the incident was reported. Credit: FlightRadar24

    Hawaiian Airlines flight HA451 from Honolulu to Sydney encountered unexpected severe turbulence approximately five hours into the flight.

    “Airport medical personnel assessed and released three of the injured passengers, with the fourth passenger and our three flight attendants being referred for further evaluation.

    “Our immediate priority is to continue to care for our passengers and crew affected by this turbulence event, and we thank Sydney airport first responders for their swift assistance. We conducted a thorough inspection of the aircraft before boarding HA452, which departed Sydney to Honolulu at approximately 10:30 p.m. local time Friday,” an airline spokesperson said.

    The Airbus A330 with registration N393HA had 163 passengers and 12 crew onboard.

    Pictures posted online appear to show dents and marks on the roof of the cabin, caused by people being thrown from their seats according to eyewitnesses.

    Image posted on Reddit by RainbowAussie.

    Four passengers and three flight attendants were initially treated by a doctor onboard and our crew members in consultation with physicians on the ground.

    One passenger and 3 cabin crew were taken to a hospital.

    The aircraft returned to Hawaii as scheduled 3 hours later.

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