Turbulence Hits JAL Flight

Eleven passengers aboard a Japanese Airlines DC-10 were injured when the jet hit severe turbulence and plunged hundreds of feet in a matter of seconds, a JAL official said.

Ten of the injured were treated for minor injuries and released from The Queen's Medical Center on Sunday. The remaining passenger was listed in fair condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.

All of the injured were Japanese.

Flight 56 was en route from Sendai, Japan, to Hawaii with 130 passengers when it struck turbulence at 35,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean, JAL manager Tetsuhiro Onomoto said.

The "fasten seat belt" sign was switched on 15 minutes before the incident, and the cabin crew had warned passengers about the possibility of turbulence, Onomoto said. Some of the injured may have slept through the warning, he said.

The plane, which landed safely two hours later at Honolulu International Airport, was undamaged and made its return flight to Japan later in the day, Onomoto said.

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