What’s been called a “technical event” left about 50 people injured Monday as they flew from Sydney, Australia, to Auckland, New Zealand, aboard a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner that was ultimately bound for Chile.
South American airline LATAM said there was a “technical event during the flight which caused a strong movement,” according to NBC. It offered no details.
A Boeing representative said in a statement, “We are working to gather more information about the flight and will provide any support needed by our customer.”
According to the U.K.’s Daily Mail, the incident happened when most passengers had unbuckled their seat belts.
Passenger Brian Jokat said some passengers were bounced into the ceiling of the plane, some hard enough to break parts of the cabin, according to The Washington Post.
Others were hurt when they landed, he said.
“Then people just started screaming. I felt the plane take a nosedive. It felt like it was at the top of a roller coaster, and then it flattened out again,” Jokat said.
Passenger Priscilla Waller-Subritzky told the New Zealand Herald that “a number of passengers and crew were thrown into the roof of the plane”.
Should Boeing face serious consequences for the issues that have plagued its planes?
“I went into fight mode and just started jumping in and helping where I could because the crew were injured so couldn’t help,” she said.
“Everyone was terrified,” passenger Lucas Ellwood told “Good Morning America” in a clip posted to X, which has since been deleted.
“There were people whimpering all over. There were people injured all over,” he said.
“It was just like the worst form of turbulence you could think of,” Ellwood said.
The Hato Hone St. John ambulance service said seven ambulances and other vehicles responded to treat “approximately 50 patients,” with one in serious condition, according to The Washington Post.
🚨🇳🇿UPDATE: 50 INJURED ON LATAM BOEING FLIGHT
Emergency services in New Zealand treated 50 people for injuries after passengers and crew were thrown into the ceiling, with one person in a serious condition.
Source: NZ Herald https://t.co/qPP0CriFSl pic.twitter.com/fgKbT7tFow
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 11, 2024
LATAM said a new flight to complete the trek to Chile would depart on Tuesday, according to the Herald.
Boeing planes have been in the headlines recently since the door panel of an Alaska Airlines jet blew off in January.
On Thursday, a United Airlines Boeing 777 lost a tire on takeoff as it took off from San Francisco International Airport, according to CNN.
A Boeing 737 MAX 8 operated by United Airlines suffered a gear collapse upon landing in Houston, Texas, on Friday, according to the Daily Mail. The aircraft, which arrived from Memphis, slid off the runway and onto the grass. No injuries were reported.
Earlier last week, the engine of a Boeing 737 caught fire in midair, NBC reported.
