As they were coming in for a landing, a “plume” of bad weather suddenly appeared in front of Hawaiian Airlines pilots — who hit severe turbulence just seconds later.
Dozens of passengers were injured as they experienced a “hard jolt” and then a “free-fall” sensation.
WATCH THE VIDEO: See inside Hawaiian Airlines plane rocked by turbulence
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One passenger had to crawl back to their seat.
Phones, jackets and water bottles “floated” around passengers and “two hard hits” occurred during the incident.
The details from the 2022 incident near Kahului, Hawaii, are described in a just-released National Transportation Safety Board final report which faults the pilots for flying over the plume instead of going around it.
“We regularly train our crews on significant weather avoidance, including in-air turbulence,” Hawaiian Airlines said in response to the report.
“Following Flight 35, we conducted a thorough internal review and co-operated with the NTSB to understand the factors that led the aircraft to encounter stronger than anticipated and reported turbulence.
“We will continue to learn as much as we can from this event.”
Previous CNN reporting of the incident revealed 36 people were injured, with 20 going to hospital.
According to the NTSB’s final report, before Hawaiian Airlines Flight 35 left Phoenix and headed for Honolulu, the captain was informed of “potential turbulence and embedded convective activity” over the Hawaiian Islands.
After a mostly uneventful flight, the pilots described a “plume” appearing vertically in front of the Airbus 330-299 carrying 283 passengers.
“It’s building fast,” one pilot said.
The crew called the lead flight attendant on board but, within a few seconds, the aeroplane lurched.
The lead flight attendant was never able to alert the other seven flight attendants.
“Flight attendants and passengers who were not restrained were thrown upward, impacting the ceiling or baggage compartments above them, and then downward onto the floor,” the report says, noting the plane experienced vertical accelerations twice the force of gravity.
“A passenger who had left her seat to go to the lavatory reported that she felt the aeroplane shake; she then ‘flew’ face-first into lavatory ceiling and was ‘thrown abruptly’ onto the floor.”
One flight attendant was seriously injured. A 14-month-old child was also among the passengers injured and later taken to hospital.
Investigators said prior to this flight, there were only seven reports of minor turbulence in the area.
But the agency also said the National Weather Service had forecast the potential for unstable atmosphere and flying conditions, meaning the flight crew was aware of what could occur along its route.
Honolulu Emergency Medical Services told CNN the patients’ injuries included a serious head injury, lacerations, bruising and loss of consciousness.
One passenger who was in the bathroom and said she felt the aeroplane shake then flew face-first into the bathroom ceiling before she was thrown onto the floor. She had to crawl back to her seat.
The storm was later identified as a Kona storm, which brings heavy rainfall and strong winds to Hawaii from the southwest.
A voice recorder in the cockpit recorded pilots after the turbulence saying they should have “gone around”.
The NTSB lists the probable cause of the incident as “the flight crew’s decision to fly over an observed storm cell instead of deviating around it, despite sufficient meteorological information” there was the potential for severe weather.
The seatbelt sign was turned on before the event. However, the captain never made another announcement about the turbulence, potentially contributing to more passenger injuries, the NTSB said.
Injuries were treated by flight attendants and trained passengers.
The captain had more than 12,000 hours of flying time and nearly 6000 hours on the same make and model plane.
Damage occurred throughout the cabin, including a passenger service unit that fell from an overhead carrier and missing ceiling panels. More damage occurred throughout the plane, including a flight attendant handset and exit signs.