‘Felt like an earthquake, pilot’s gauges just blanked out’: flight passengers describe terror after mid-air drop

Cockpit voice and flight data recorders are being gathered as an investigation begins into a sudden mid-air drop on an Auckland-bound flight that left passengers bloodied, hospitalised dozens and “felt like an earthquake had just hit”.

Latam Airlines flight LA800 departed Sydney at 11.35am on Monday with 263 passengers and nine flight and cabin crew headed for Auckland.

About two-thirds of the way into the three-hour flight, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner – which was eight years old, according to flight tracking data – “experienced a strong shake”, the airline said.

The incident occurred after a “technical problem”, the Chilean carrier said, as it continued to investigate the incident.

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Passengers on board the flight told New Zealand news site Stuff that once the plane landed, the pilot was in “shock” and said his “gauges just blanked out”. Without the instrument panel, passengers claimed the pilot said he briefly lost the ability to fly his plane.

Fifty people were treated by 14 ambulance crews who were waiting for the flight when it landed safely at Auckland airport on Monday at about 4.30pm local time.

Thirteen of those were hospitalised, including one in a serious condition. Those hospitalised included four passengers from Australia, two from Brazil and two from New Zealand, as well as one French and one Chilean passenger. Three cabin crew were also taken for further treatment.

As of Tuesday morning, four patients remained at Middlemore hospital. In a statement on Tuesday morning, Latam said there were no life-threatening risks to those still hospitalised.

The mid-air drop has been described as lasting for about a second or so.

Auckland-based DJ Lucas Ellwood, a passenger who had his seat belt on at the time of the drop, said the lunch service had just finished when the plane “all of a sudden fell”.

“It was over [in] under a second so it was a very quick jolt,” Mr Ellwood told ABC News. “It felt like an earthquake had just hit.”

“Everything was smooth sailing and then it just struck us, with no warning from the pilots,” he told the Guardian. Mr Ellwood said everything that was not strapped down instantly hit the roof.

“It was harrowing,” he said. Passengers and crew members were left injured and bleeding, while others were visibly shaken, Ellwood said.

“There was verbal panic until we touched down, and once we touched down, everyone applauded and cheered and clapped. Up until that moment everybody was scared.”

Mr Ellwood said very little information was provided to passengers immediately after the incident, and since then the airline had not offered him support nor an apology. “I’m kind of disappointed there hasn’t been a swifter response to this serious situation.”

Brian Jokat, another passenger on the flight, said “all of a sudden, the plane just dropped out of the sky”.

Mr Jokat had been sleeping with his seat belt on at the time of the drop, but woke up to find the passenger who had been sitting next to him with “his back on the ceiling” of the plane. “Then he drops down and hits his head on the armrest. The whole plane is screaming.”

Mr Jokat said he then felt the plane “taking a nose dive” and that he was “just thinking ‘OK this is it, we’re done’”.

“The ceiling’s broken from people’s heads and bodies hitting it. Basically neck braces were being put on people, guys’ heads were cut and they were bleeding. It was just crazy,” he told Stuff.

The flight was making a scheduled stop in New Zealand on its way to Santiago, Chile. The next flight leg was cancelled, with passengers offered onward travel to Santiago on a flight on Tuesday evening.

Latam said it “is working in co-ordination with the respective authorities to support the investigations into the incident”.

“Latam Airlines Group’s priority is to support the passengers and crew members of the flight, and apologise for any inconvenience and discomfort that this situation may have caused. They also reiterate their commitment to safety as an uncompromising value within its operational standards,” the airline said in a statement.

On Tuesday, the Chilean accident investigation authority, the Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil (DGAC), confirmed it had launched an investigation into the incident.

As the incident occurred in international airspace, the DGAC is responsible for investigating, but the New Zealand Transport Accident Investigation Commission said it had been asked to assist its Chilean counterpart.

The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAA) said the incident had not yet been formally reported to the CAA, but it expected that to happen in the coming days in accordance with Civil Aviation Rules.

Boeing said it has been in contact with Latam as the airline investigates what went wrong. “Boeing stands ready to support investigation-related activities as requested,” a spokesman told the Guardian.

Boeing shares closed down about 3 per cent, after the latest incident involving one of its aircraft. The US Federal Aviation Administration in January barred the troubled plane maker from expanding production of its best-selling 737 MAX narrow-body planes, after “unacceptable” quality issues. – Guardian