Passengers Hit Ceiling As Air Canada Plane Carrying 269 Travellers Plunges In Turbulence

An Air Canada flight passengers were caught unbuckled during intense turbulence which left 37 passengers and crew members injured and nine of them received serious injuries. The Sydney bound flight from Vancouver was forced to land in Hawaii.

Thirty people were taken to hospitals.

Air Canada spokesperson, Angela Mah, issued a statement in which it was said that flight encountered ¡°un-forecasted and sudden turbulence," about two hours past Hawaii when the plane diverted to Honululu.

"The plane just dropped," AP quoted one of passenger Stephanie Beam.

"When we hit turbulence, I woke up and looked over to make sure my kids were buckled. The next thing I knew there's just literally bodies on the ceiling of the plane."

The injured are of different age group from being children to elderly.

Honolulu Emergency Services Department spokeswoman Shayne Enright told that passengers received cut, bruises, back and neck pain.

"I watched a whole bunch of people hit the ceiling of the plane," said another passenger Alex MacDonald. "A couple of the air hostesses were bringing food out at the time, and they hit the roof as well."

AP

Honululu news station KTIV spoke to sassenger Luke Wheeldon who told that half of the passengers were not wearing seatbelts.

"There was no warning and then half of them, their head hit the roof all at once," he said. "And I went, 'Oh, this is a bad day.'"

The plane hit turbulence at 36,000 feet about 600 miles southwest of Honululu, the US Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said. The plane was Boeing 777-200 and it was carrying 269 passengers and 15 crew members, Peter Fitzpartrick, Air Canada spokesperson said.

"If we're going to be stuck somewhere, I can think of worse places," said Beam, travelling with her 10- and 11-year-old children.