Phoenix (3TV/CBS 5) – A Hawaiian Airlines flight from Phoenix to Hawaii experienced severe turbulence before landing, injuring more than 30 people. The Arizona family has spoken to an attorney who said passengers on board may have grounds to sue.
“There was a row of girls behind me, and she had a big gash on her head, and you could see blood everywhere, like it was dripping from her head,” said Jacie Hayata Ano, a student at Grand Canyon University on the plane. Say.
It was a terrifying moment for passengers on a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Phoenix to Honolulu on Sunday, “like a roller coaster ride,” Hayata-Ano said. More than 30 people were injured in the severe turbulence of the plane shortly before landing; 20 had to be hospitalized.
“The question now is, what did the Hawaiian Airlines pilot know?” Charles Haskins, an aviation accident attorney, said he believed the turbulence came from nowhere and the injury could have been avoided.
But Hawaiian Airlines chief operating officer Jon Snook disagreed. “There was no warning that there was any danger in this particular piece of air at that altitude; it caught everyone by surprise, which happens a lot,” Snook said.
“The way the aviation industry always defends these kinds of cases is that the turbulence they create is similar to potholes in the sky. So, if you’re driving, you can’t always see the potholes. I think that’s a poor analogy, Because there are so many resources available to pilots.”
There are three main ways pilots see and avoid turbulence, Haskins said. “So not only are pilots getting reports from the National Weather Service, ground control centers, but they’re also using radar,” Haskins said. Such severe turbulence is often very noticeable, he said. “The severity of the turbulence you’re seeing in this situation, people literally being thrown into the ceiling, that shouldn’t be happening,” he said.
While Snook said the fasten seat belt sign was on, Haskins said that wasn’t enough in this case. “Did the pilots tell them what they were going to encounter? In this day and age, people wear air bags … people are sleeping,” Haskins said.
Haskins also mentioned that in the event of unexpected turbulence, pilots can slow down and reduce the fluctuation of the aircraft. However, he said it was crucial to know what precautions pilots were taking. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation into the incident.
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