(BrightPress.org) – Passengers and crew are in shock after a “technical” issue caused the plane they were on to drop momentarily into a nosedive while mid-flight. Flight LA800 of the Chilean airline LATAM was en route from Sydney, Australia to Auckland, New Zealand when passengers say the plane, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, suddenly fell into a violent nosedive causing passengers to be flung against the ceiling of the cabin before quickly leveling out again.
Brian Jokat, a passenger on the flight, told Radio New Zealand that he witnessed passengers sustain injuries as they hit the ceiling of the plane with enough force to break parts from the ceiling of the cabin. Others were injured as they plummeted back to the floor as the plane quickly leveled. According to Jokat, the entire episode only lasted “split seconds.” With still around an hour left before the flight was to land, the uninjured crew and passengers tended to the injured until the plane landed in Auckland.
Flight LA 800 landed safely at the Auckland International Airport where the Hato Hone St. John ambulance service assessed and tended to approximately 50 individuals. According to a spokesperson with the ambulance service, 13 patients were transported to a hospital, one in serious condition.
Jokat was briefly able to speak with the pilot after the plane landed in Auckland. The pilot reportedly said he briefly “lost instrumentation”
The flight was originally intended to continue from Auckland to Santiago, Chile, but after the incident, the continued flight to Santiago was canceled. The airline provided accommodations and food to all those affected.
This incident follows a string of problems with Boeing aircraft. An Alaskan Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft lost a door plug mid-flight in January. In February, a Boeing 737 Max 8 experienced “stuck” rudder pedals. Last week, a Boeing 777-200 lost a wheel during takeoff and a Boeing 737 landing in Houston, TX skidded off the runway.
All incidents are under investigation.
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