Sydney flight damaged, passengers injured ‘flying out of seats’ in severe turbulence

Damage to the plane cabin caused by "bodies flying out of seats", claim Hawaiian Airways passengers. Photo / Reddit, RainbowAussie

Images have emerged claiming to be from a flight from Hawaii to Australia experiencing extreme turbulence that injured 12 people.

Four passengers and three attendants were treated for injuries aboard the aircraft after “unexpected severe turbulence” struck a Hawaiian Airlines flight HA451 bound for Sydney, this weekend.

The photos which were shared by Reddit user /RainbowAussie claimed to show “damage caused by human bodies flying out of seats” after the plane “suddenly nosedived”.

Three images showed cracked panelling and liquid on the ceiling of the A330 service from Honolulu. A third photo showed oxygen masks deployed and dangling above seats.

“As someone flying internationally tomorrow, I sure as hell wish I didn’t see this lovely piece of news,” read a top comment in the Sydney Reddit forum.

Passengers of flight HA451 claim oxygen masks were deployed after severe turbulence over the Pacific. Photo / Reddit, RainbowAussie

The incident happened just five hours after takeoff from Hawaii, however the crew decided to continue on to their intended destination. Flight HA451 landed at Sydney at 7.47pm “without incident” according to the airline.

“Four passengers and three flight attendants were initially treated by a doctor onboard and our crew members in consultation with physicians on the ground,” Hawaiian Airlines said in a statement. New South Wales ambulance crews were on the scene where they treated 12 people and an additional three passengers were taken to hospital for further treatment according to AAP.

Damage to the plane cabin was superficial according to Hawaiian Airlines and the aircraft was cleared to return to Honolulu, three hours later.

“We conducted a thorough inspection of the aircraft before boarding HA452, which departed Sydney to Honolulu at approximately 10.30pm.”

In December a Hawaiian Airlines service from Phoenix to Honolulu carrying 278 passengers struck severe turbulence, injuring at least 36 people.

A US law firm representing passengers on the flight claimed that action could have been taken to avoid the turbulence.

“In an area with known turbulence and with three flights reportedly already having been diverted earlier that day,” said Robert Clifford, senior partner for Clifford Law.

What is turbulence?

Turbulence is caused by pockets of disrupted air currents that buffet a plane.

Caused by rising hot air, storm currents or changes in temperature over land formations and bodies of water, turbulence is not uncommon, particularly over large oceans such as the Pacific. It is hard to predict precisely but many aircraft today can use radar and forecasting to predict if there may be a ‘rough patch’ ahead.

It is rare that turbulence is so severe that it damage planes or injures passengers.

Last month British Airways flight BA12 to Heathrow was forced to turn around back to Singapore for engineering inspection after being struck by severe turbulence.

Passengers reported the feeling that the aircraft was “falling out of the sky”.

Thomas Bywater is a travel writer and digital producer for the NZ Herald. He joined the Herald in 2018 and since 2021 has been based out of Christchurch.