Cloud shot up in front of Hawaiian Airlines plane that hit severe turbulence last month

Plane was unable to change course within seconds, investigation finds, leading to 25 people injured

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 by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The captain of the 18 December flight from Phoenix to Honolulu told investigators that flight conditions had been 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.