NTSB: Cloud shot up in front of plane before turbulence
HONOLULU (AP) — A cloud shot up vertically like a plume of smoke in a matter of seconds before a Hawaiian Airlines flight last month hit severe turbulence and 25 people on board were injured, according to a preliminary report Friday by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The captain of the Dec. 18 flight from Phoenix to Honolulu told investigators that flight conditions were smooth with clear skies when the cloud shot up in front of the plane and there was no time to change course, the report said. He called the lead flight attendant and told her there might be turbulence. Within one to three seconds, the plane “encountered severe turbulence,” the report states.
