According to new reporting by the Wall Street Journal, the mishap on board the terrifying flight from Sydney to Auckland that was so turbulent it left 50 people injured was caused by a flight attendant.
Per the publication, unnamed US airline officials contend that the flight attendant, who was allegedly serving a meal at the time, accidentally hit a switch which caused the pilot to be thrust into the controls.
“Closing the spring-loaded seat back switch guard onto a loose/detached rocker switch cap can potentially jam the rocker switch, resulting in unintended seat movement,” said a memo seen by the publication.
In response, Boeing has stated that “the investigation of Flight LA800 is ongoing and we defer to the investigation authorities on any potential findings”.
“We are recommending operators perform an inspection at the next maintenance opportunity,” it concluded, per The Guardian.
Passengers who survived the flight have shared what the experience was like, and it seems straight out of a horror movie.
The Latam Airlines flight, a Chilean carrier, left Sydney on Monday when the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner experienced a sudden drop in altitude, which has since been attributed to a “technical event” that caused “strong movement”.
According to passengers, the drop was no small bump. One flier, 61-year-old Brian Jokat, told Today that it felt as though the plane had “just dropped out of the sky”, and that the gravity shift caused his neighbour’s body to hit the ceiling.
“For that split second, he was above me,” he said.
“And then he came crashing down. And that’s when I knew I wasn’t in a dream.”
In another interview with 2GB radio, Jokat said people “just flew to the ceiling of the plane and bounced off the roof and fell down to the floor and were thrown everywhere, it was chaos.”
“I felt like I was watching a movie quite frankly, it was that surreal,” he said.
“The top of the plane was broken in several places, people went right through the roof and you could see the inner workings of the plane inside.
“It dislodged the roof panels.”
According to Jokat, several crew members were left unable to walk due to their injuries, and that doctors who happened to be on the flight gave first aid to those in need, including putting people in neck braces.
“There were a lot of people in pain, neck injuries, rib injuries, cuts,” he said.
Once the plane arrived in Auckland, St John Ambulance New Zealand said it treated 50 patients, 12 of which were taken to hospital.
One patient was in a serious condition, whereas others were found to be in a “moderate to minor condition”.
Jokat said the scare left people “crying” and “shaking”.
Latam confirmed passengers and crew were “affected” as a result of the drop, but hasn’t detailed what caused it. Jokat said the plane’s pilot claimed “his instrument gauges went black for a split second and just cut out”, briefly causing him to lose control of the flight.
“LATAM regrets the inconvenience and injury this situation may have caused its passengers, and reiterates its commitment to safety as a priority within the framework of its operational standards,” the airline said in a statement.
The Latam flight incident is the latest in a string of disturbing news
The Latam flight drop comes after a series of issues with flights — specifically Boeings — in recent days.
United Airlines was forced to turn its San Francisco flight around and send it back to Sydney airport following a mid-flight emergency on Monday.
Firefighters met the Boeing 777-300 plane on the tarmac and deboarded all passengers while the fault was being investigated. It was apparently a hydraulics fault.
It had a further four emergency landings just last week, and in February, a pilot of a Boeing 737 Max 8 said his flight controls became jammed when he was trying to land the plane.
These issues also come as an ongoing lawsuit against Boeing takes place, with witnesses questioned last week.
John Barnett, a whistleblower who had worked with the company for 32 years, and at some point was a quality manager, alleged pressure by bosses on workers to rush the assembly process of the planes left their safety compromised.
He alleged that workers would fit sub standard parts that had been left in scrap bins on planes to speed up the production line, and claimed there were issues with emergency oxygen systems that meant one in four oxygen masks would not deploy in an emergency.
Boeing denied his assertions, but preliminary reports into the safety of the planes found that some of Barnett’s allegations held up.
Barnett was sadly found dead on Tuesday, just days before he was set to go through further questioning in the Boeing lawsuit.
In a statement Boeing said: “We are saddened by Mr. Barnett’s passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends.”
Image: Nine.
