An investigation is underway after a LATAM Airlines flight suffered a “technical” incident that injured dozens and left others hospitalised.
Here’s what we know so far about that was carrying 263 passengers and nine cabin crew members.
What happened on board LATAM Airlines LA800?
The Chilean airline said the Boeing 787 Dreamliner experienced a “technical event” that caused a “strong shake” about an hour from Auckland, without elaborating further.
Passengers, saying the plane “suddenly dropped”. Some passengers and crew who were unrestrained during the incident hit the plane ceiling.
“The plane, unannounced, just dropped. I mean it dropped unlike anything I’ve ever experienced on any kind of minor turbulence, and people were thrown out of their seats, hit the top of the roof of the plane, throwing down the aisles,” passenger Brian Jokat, who was not injured in the incident, told the BBC.
The flight landed at Auckland Airport on Monday afternoon and passengers were met by paramedics. Source: AAP / Michael Craig/AP
He said passengers who were doctors on the plane provided bandages and neck braces for people who were severely injured.
Another passenger, Renata Meins, in an Instagram story, described it as a “horror movie”.
The injured and hospitalised
Passengers were met by paramedics from the Hato Hone St John ambulance service when the flight touched down in Auckland.
About 50 people were treated at the scene for mostly mild injuries. Four of the 10 passengers taken to hospital were Australians, and three cabin crew members were also admitted.
Health New Zealand said in a statement on Tuesday morning that four people were still receiving treatment at Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital and had a range of “moderate injuries” but were in stable condition.
They did not elaborate on the extent of the injuries. However, a spokesperson from Counties Manukau District Health Board, which manages Middlemore Hospital, told SBS News on Monday evening that those there had cuts, abrasions, and lacerations.
What could have caused the ‘sudden drop’?
Jokat claims the pilot came to the back of the plane when it landed where he asked him what happened, according to a report in The Australian newspaper.
Jokat reportedly said the pilot replied: “I don’t know, my instrument panel just went on me for a split second and caused the plane to lose control.”
Safety experts say most aeroplane accidents are caused by a cocktail of factors that need to be thoroughly investigated.
Former pilot Richard de Crespigny told ABC News on Tuesday it was a “peculiar” incident.
“Even if they had a power failure, they should have had enough power supplies to keep the aeroplane flying smoothly,” he told the ABC.
Boeing shares closed down about 3 per cent, after the latest incident involving one of its aircraft. Source: Getty, AFP / Patrick T Fallon
He added: “This would not be a design that an aircraft should ever do this. So if it is the power failure or hydraulics failure or flight controls failure, we’d have to find out what was wrong and how to fix it.”
Professor Doug Drury, head of aviation at CQUniversity Australia, appeared less concerned. Writing in The Conversation, he said there was “no need to worry” and that the plane’s safety systems appeared to work as intended.
“Whatever happened in this case, it seems the redundant systems on the 787, which includes six backup generators, were able to rapidly return all systems to normal,” he wrote.
What happens now?
On Tuesday, New Zealand’s Transport Accident Investigation Commission said it was seizing the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder of a LATAM Airlines Boeing 787.
The New Zealand accident investigator said Chilean authorities had confirmed they had opened an investigation into the flight, and it was assisting with their enquiries.
Boeing said it was working to gather more information and will provide any support to the airline.
Boeing shares closed down about 3 per cent, after the latest incident involving one of its aircraft. in January, the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) barred the troubled planemaker from expanding production of its best-selling 737 MAX narrowbody planes, following “unacceptable” quality issues.
The head of the FAA, Mike Whitaker, said the agency will work with Australian authorities, or New Zealand authorities to investigate.
“We will certainly follow that closely” given the plane was manufactured in the US, he said.
In 2008, dozens of people were injured when another wide-body jet, an Airbus 330 operated by Qantas Airways, dropped sharply because of faulty readings from a flight data computer while heading for Perth.
With additional reporting by Reuters via the Australian Associated Press.
