After moving towards the west for an additional 18 hours, it subsequently began a sharp turn northwest and later west-northwest due to an intensifying trough off the west coast of Baja California. Meanwhile, Sandra slowly weakened. At 1746 UTC September 12, a Hurricane Hunter aircraft intersected Hurricane Sandra after being on standby in Hawaii. The aircraft penetrated Sandra twice, reaching the level. It also measured surface winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) and a surface pressure of . The eye was reportedly open to the west with low-level banding, and the eye was in diameter.