Giada Amendolara '25
Passengers on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, LATAM Airlines flight traveling from Sydney to Auckland, New Zealand, say they struck the roof, and New Zealand is looking into the abrupt plunge during the flight.
According to NBC news, On Monday, March 11 a "strong shake" on a LATAM Airlines flight from Sydney to Auckland, New Zealand, resulted in more than a dozen individuals being taken to the hospital and at least 50 injuries, according to officials.
While investigators looked to determine what caused the plane to fall out of the air, a passenger on a Boeing flight described a dramatic event in which people were thrown into the ceiling. "Everything was going well," said passenger Brian Jokat, who was sitting in a window seat as the flight headed toward New Zealand. “Then, all of a sudden, the plane took a nosedive down. People were flying out of their seats, hitting the roof, being thrown back four or five aisles back.”
The pilot of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner informed the passengers that the aircraft experienced a brief equipment malfunction that resulted in a nearly 500-foot drop.
The aircraft manufacturer has been facing criticism in recent months due to a number of safety incidents and technical issues. The Justice Department has recently opened a criminal inquiry on January 5 after an Alaska Airline flight's door panel broke out in midair above Portland, Oregon. Shortly after the United Airlines aircraft took off from San Francisco last week, a tire broke off and collided with nearby parked cars.