An Air Canada Boeing 777-200 operating from Vancouver (Canada) to Sydney (Australia) was hit by unexpected turbulence on July 11, 2019. Thirty-seven people were injured, out of which nine more seriously. The plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Honolulu (Hawaii).
The plane, registered C-FNNH, was carrying out flight AC33 from Vancouver International Airport (YVR) to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD). It was carrying 269 passengers and 15 crew members.
It encountered “un-forecasted and sudden turbulence approximately two hours past Hawaii”, Air Canada (ADH2) confirmed to AeroTime. The flight crew decided to divert and turn around. The plane landed safely at Honolulu International Airport (HNL).
“The seat in front of me, the girl hit the plastic overhead and actually snapped and broke it, and the oxygen masks came down, and a lot of panic,” one passenger told HawaiiNewsNow.
“We all hit the roof and everything fell down,” another passenger on the flight told local TV station KHON, adding “people went flying”.
A total of 30 people were transported to a local hospital where nine received treatment for various injuries, including cuts on the head. All people were assessed, treated and released by local hospitals and were accommodated in hotels.
A replacement aircraft was flown in. The flight to Sydney is expected to resume on July 12, 2019.