Plume-like cloud ‘shot’ in front of Hawaiian Airlines flight seconds before turbulence injured 25, pilot says

A pilot on a Hawaiian Airlines flight said a plume-like cloud “shot” in front of the plane moments before severe turbulence that left more than two dozen people injured Federal officials Friday said that the plane was damaged by lightning last month.

Pilot on Dec. 18 flight from Phoenix, Honolulu to Phoenix, stated that conditions were good and that on-board weather radar detected no turbulence. The aircraft flew above cirrostratus clouds at 37,000 to 38,000 feet.

Just after 10 a.m., when the flight was 40 minutes from landing, a “cloud shot up vertically (like a smoke plume) in front of the airplane in a matter of seconds, and there was not enough time to deviate,” the report says.

The pilot told the lead flight attendant about the incoming weather, and within 1 to 3 seconds, the plane — an Airbus A330 — plowed into what the report described as “severely convectively induced turbulence,” the report says.

The report states that “shortly after the turbulence caused upset, the lead flight attendant informed crew that there were multiple injuries in cabin.”

Satellite imagery later reviewed by the report’s authors showed strong cells associated with a storm system moving toward Hawaii that were near the flight path, according to the report.

The report states that no other pilots reported severe weather in the area before the incident.

Officials said that 25 of the 291 Hawaiian Airlines passengers and crew suffered cuts, bruises and nausea.

According to the report, six of the injuries were severe. According to the report, the plane sustained minor damage.

This article was first published on NBCNews.com