Terrified Air Canada passengers left injured after hitting the ceiling during 'severe turbulence'
More than 35 passengers were left injured after severe turbulence sent them flying into the air during an Air Canada flight.
The Boeing 777-200 hit “unforecasted and sudden turbulence” when it was travelling from Vancouver to Sydney and was forced to land in Hawaii.
Terrified passengers and crew were thrown into the air and hit the ceiling, leaving 37 injured - nine seriously.
Passenger Stephanie Beam, from Colorado Springs, Colorado, said the plane "just dropped".
"When we hit turbulence, I woke up and looked over to make sure my kids were buckled,” she said.
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“The next thing I knew there's just literally bodies on the ceiling of the plane."
One woman hit the ceiling so hard that she broke the casing of an oxygen mask, she added.
SUDDEN TURBULENCE
Air Canada #AC33 Toronto to Sydney via Vancouver “encountered un-forecasted and sudden turbulence,” and diverted to Honolulu. Air Canada says “preliminary information indicates there are approximately 25 people who have sustained minor injuries.” pic.twitter.com/9hIeQH6yW8— Tom Podolec Aviation (@TomPodolec) July 11, 2019
Llyn Williams was travelling back home to Sydney, Australia, with wife Erica Daly, who was injured and taken to hospital.
He said: "Everybody who was not seated and belted in hit the roof, almost everybody in our cabin."
He said the cabin afterwards was frightening, with plastic lying around and oxygen masks dangling. "A lot of blood everywhere," he said. "It was really quite scary."
Andrew Szucs, originally from Ontario but now living in Sydney, said the pilot came on the radio and said they did not see the turbulence on radar and had "no warning this kind of air drop was going to happen."
The Boeing 777-200 was carrying 269 passengers and 15 crew members and was diverted to Honolulu.
Honolulu Emergency Services Department spokeswoman Shayne Enright said injuries suffered by passengers included cuts, bumps, bruises, neck pain and back pain.
