35 Injured On Air Canada Flight To Australia After Aircraft Hits ‘Sudden Turbulence’

35 Injured On Air Canada Flight To Australia After Aircraft Hits ‘Sudden Turbulence’

Dozens of passengers aboard an Air Canada flight from Vancouver to Sydney, Australia on Friday were injured after the aircraft met “un-forecasted and sudden turbulence,” forcing the plane’s pilots to make an emergency landing in Honolulu.

A spokesperson for the airline told Gizmodo in a statement by email that an estimated 35 people on flight AC33 suffered “minor injuries” in the incident, based on its current information. There were 269 passengers and 15 crew on the aircraft, a Boeing 777-200, the spokesperson said.

The plane was roughly two hours past Hawaii when it was forced to divert to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, landing at around 12:45 p.m. ET, according to the airline.

According to CTV News Montreal, passengers mostly suffered head and neck injuries. A passenger identified as Tim Tricky said that those who weren’t wearing seatbelts at the time of the incident “hit the roof like a jack-in-a-box.”

Passenger Sharon Thornton told CBS News that it seemed as though the aircraft “just sank and then flew up.” The outlet reported that nine people were transported to a nearby hospital after the plane landed safely.

“Our first priority is always the safety of our flights, passengers and crew and as a precaution, medical personnel are on standby to assist passengers in Honolulu,” an Air Canada spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said that the airline is arranging for hotel stays and meals for the flight’s passengers while they await another flight. They will depart Honolulu on Saturday on a different aircraft.


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.

At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.