A mishap with a cockpit seat may have thrust the pilot into the controls of a Boeing Co. 787 plane flying to New Zealand this week, triggering the sudden plunge that injured 50 passengers, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials familiar with the investigation.
A flight attendant serving a meal on the Latam flight hit a switch on the seat, propelling the pilot forward and pushing down the aircraft’s nose, the newspaper said. According to the report, the switch is fitted with a cover and isn’t meant to be pressed if a person is in the seat.
The plane was on its way to Auckland from Sydney on Monday when it suddenly lost altitude. Multiple media reports have described how the incident sent passengers, including at least one baby, flying into the ceiling of the cabin. While no one was seriously injured, seven passengers and three crew members were taken to the hospital after the flight landed in Auckland.
At Least 50 Hurt as LATAM’s Boeing 787 to Auckland Dropped Abruptly Mid-Flight
Boeing told the WSJ that it’s in contact with Latam Airlines Group SA and is on hand to help the investigation. The US planemaker may issue a memo about the seat switch to airlines flying the popular 787 Dreamliner, the newspaper said.
Boeing currently faces scrutiny for separate safety lapses after the Jan. 5 blowout of a door plug on a 737 Max 9 operated by Alaskan Airlines shortly after takeoff. No one was injured and the plane landed safely.
US regulators last month gave the company 90 days to devise a plan to fix what it called “systemic” quality-control issues, while the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the Alaska Air incident. Accident investigators say they remain in the dark about who performed the work on the panel that failed in January, despite high-level pleas being made to Boeing and interviews with people at the factory where the work was performed.
Latam has described the mid-air plunge as a “technical event during the flight, which caused a strong movement.”
Two investigators from Chile’s civil aviation agency arrived in New Zealand on Wednesday to lead the probe, the WSJ said. The newspaper cited US industry officials who had been briefed on initial evidence.
Photograph: Inside the cockpit of an aircraft. Photo credit: Dhiraj SIngh/Bloomberg
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