WASHINGTON - A mishap with a cockpit seat may have thrust the pilot into the controls of a Boeing 787 plane flying to New Zealand on March 11, triggering the sudden plunge that injured 50 passengers, The Wall Street Journal reported. It cited United States officials familiar with the investigation.
A flight attendant serving a meal on the Latam Airlines flight hit a switch on the seat, propelling the pilot forward and pushing down the aircraft’s nose, the newspaper said. It added that the switch is fitted with a cover and is not meant to be pressed if a person is in the seat.
The plane was on its way to Auckland from Sydney on March 11 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.
Boeing told the WSJ it is 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 Alaska Airlines shortly after take-off. No one was injured and the plane landed safely.
In February, US regulators gave the company 90 days to devise a plan to fix what it called “systemic” quality-control issues, while the US Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the Alaska Airlines 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 March 13 to lead the probe, the WSJ said. The newspaper cited US industry officials who had been briefed on initial evidence. BLOOMBERG
