"About 45 minutes prior to landing in Honolulu on Dec. 18, 2022, the pilots of Hawaiian Airlines Flight 35, a widebody Airbus A330, saw a white, plume-like cloud swiftly rising vertically ahead of them, caused by a storm cell. Moments later came a hard jolt. Then the airplane dropped rapidly, creating a brief free-falling sensation inside the cabin. Phones, water bottles, blankets and service carts lifted into the air. Passengers were affected as well, with some held down by a seatbelt while others rose upward."
"While it is rare for severe turbulence to cause injuries, in recent years, a growing body of research points to evidence that turbulence incidents overall are on the rise, driven in part by climate change. A 2023 study from the University of Reading in the U.K. analyzed four decades of data and found increases in moderate or greater clear air turbulence. In 2025, the university released another study, building on the first one, strengthening the argument that warmer temperatures will affect future flights."
About 45 minutes before landing in Honolulu on Dec. 18, 2022, Hawaiian Airlines Flight 35 encountered a rapidly rising storm plume followed by a hard jolt and a sudden rapid drop that produced a free-falling sensation. Loose items and passengers were lifted; some passengers were restrained while others rose. Two subsequent hard hits sent people to the cabin ceiling and back down, injuring 24 people, four seriously. Severe turbulence causing injuries is uncommon but not unprecedented. Studies from the University of Reading show increases in moderate or greater clear-air turbulence and project modest regional increases tied to warming temperatures.
Read at SFGATE
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