An Auckland-bound flight suddenly plunged in the sky, leaving passengers bleeding and dozens hospitalized and “feeling like there had just been an earthquake,” cockpit voice and flight data recorders are collecting.
LATAM Airlines flight LA800 took off from Sydney at 11.35am on Monday, carrying 263 passengers and nine cabin crew members, bound for Auckland. The airline said that for about two-thirds of the three-hour flight, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner – which is eight years old, according to flight tracking data – “experienced Strong shock.”
The Chilean airline said the incident occurred after a “technical issue” and that it was continuing to investigate the incident. Passengers on the plane told New Zealand news website Stuff that the pilot was “shocked” after the plane landed and said his “instruments were completely gone”. Passengers claimed that because there was no instrument panel, the pilot said he temporarily lost the ability to fly the plane.
The plane landed safely at Auckland Airport at around 4:30 pm local time on Monday, with 14 waiting ambulance crews treating 50 passengers.
Thirteen of them were hospitalized, one of them seriously. Passengers hospitalized include four Australians, two Brazilians, two New Zealanders, one French passenger and one Chilean passenger. Three crew members were also transported for further treatment.
As of Tuesday morning, four patients remained at Middlemore Hospital. Latam said in a statement Tuesday morning that the person who remains hospitalized has non-life-threatening injuries.
On Tuesday, Chile’s accident investigation agency, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC), confirmed that it had launched an investigation into the incident.
As the incident occurred in international airspace, DGAC was responsible for the investigation, but New Zealand’s Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) said it had been asked to assist its Chilean counterpart.
“TAIC is collecting evidence relevant to the investigation, including the seizure of cockpit voice and flight data recorders,” TAIC said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said the incident has not yet been formally reported to the CAA, but it is expected to happen in the coming days under civil aviation rules.
“We are currently liaising with the New Zealand Transport Accident Investigation Commission to support the investigation and will become involved where appropriate or necessary,” the CAA said in a statement.
According to the description, the fall in the air lasted about one second.
Auckland DJ Lucas Ellwood, who was wearing a seatbelt when the crash occurred, said the plane “suddenly crashed” just after lunch service.
“it’s all over [in] Less than a second, so it was a very quick shock,” Elwood told ABC News. “It felt like an earthquake had just happened.”
Elwood told the Guardian: “Everything was going fine and then we were shocked and the pilot didn’t give any warning.”
Elwood says everything that’s not tied down comes to a head immediately.
“It’s really distressing,” he said. Passengers and crew members were injured and bleeding, while others were visibly shaken, Elwood said.
“Before we landed, everyone was verbally panicking, and once we landed, everyone clapped, cheered and clapped. Up until that moment, everyone was scared.”
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Ellwood said very little information was provided to passengers in the immediate aftermath of the incident and the airline had offered him no support or apology since then.
“I’m a little disappointed that there wasn’t a quicker response to this serious situation.”
Another passenger on the flight, Brian Jokat, said, “All of a sudden, the plane fell from the sky.”
At the time of the crash, Joe Carter had been sleeping with his seatbelt on but woke up to find the passenger sitting next to him with his “back against the ceiling of the plane.” “Then he fell down and hit his head on the armrest. The whole plane was screaming.”
Joe Carter said he then felt the plane “sharply descending” and he “just thought ‘Okay, that’s it, we’re done'”.
“The ceiling was cracked from people hitting their heads and bodies. People were basically put in neck braces and their heads were cut and they were bleeding. It was crazy,” Joe Carter told Stuff.
The flight was scheduled to stop in New Zealand and fly to Santiago, Chile. The next flight was canceled and passengers were advised to take a Tuesday night flight to continue to San Diego.
LATAM said it was “coordinating with relevant authorities to support the investigation into this incident.”
“LATAM Group’s first priority is to support the passengers and crew on board the flight and apologize for any inconvenience and discomfort this situation may have caused. They also reiterate that their commitment to safety is part of their operating standards. Compromising values,” the airline said in a statement.
Fionnagh Dougan, national director of hospitals and specialist services at the New Zealand Ministry of Health, said: “This is a major incident.”
“Our staff is working extremely hard with our partner agencies to ensure a seamless transfer of patients and ensure everyone receives the best possible care,” Dugan said.
Boeing said it had contacted the Latin American airline as it investigated the cause of the problem. “Boeing stands ready to support activities related to the investigation as requested,” a spokesperson told the Guardian.
Boeing shares closed down about 3% after a recent accident involving one of its planes. The Federal Aviation Administration in January banned the troubled planemaker from expanding production of its best-selling 737 MAX narrow-body jet due to “unacceptable” quality issues.
