2024-03-15 22:09:15
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing has reminded airlines operating 787 Dreamliners as a “precaution” to inspect certain buttons in the cockpits, after an in-flight incident in New Zealand that left numerous injured.
“The investigation into flight LA800 is still ongoing and we leave it to the investigating authorities to discuss possible discoveries,” Boeing said on Friday. “We have taken a precautionary measure by reminding 787 operators of a safety bulletin 2017 service which included instructions regarding the inspection and maintenance of buttons on cockpit seats,” the American aircraft manufacturer continued, recommending operators “to conduct an inspection at the next maintenance opportunity.”
The plane suddenly lost altitude
Boeing often issues advice and recommendations regarding its aircraft fleets. But, this time, it comes in a very specific context. The plane of the Chilean company Latam, which was flying from Sydney in Australia to Auckland in New Zealand on Monday, suddenly lost altitude above the Tasman Sea. A flight attendant described to the New Zealand daily Herald having felt “a quick little fall”. “The plane dived spectacularly for a few seconds,” another passenger testified daily
The company cited a “technical incident”, which propelled those whose seat belts were unfastened to the ceiling. Around fifty people required treatment, twelve of whom were transported to hospital.
The pilot would have been thrown against the controls
The Wall Street Journal, referring to American sources in the airline sector, wrote on Friday that the incident was caused by clumsiness on the part of the flight crew. “A cabin crew member touched a button on the pilot’s seat while serving a meal, activating a motorized device that threw the pilot against the controls and caused the plane’s nose to pitch down,” explains the WSJ.
The button in question, adds the daily, “is normally covered (with protection) and is not supposed to be used when the pilot is on the seat.”
VIDEO. Boeing 787 passengers shocked after “technical incident”
Contacted in Chile by AFP, the Latam company refused to comment “because an investigation is underway. From the beginning, we have worked with the authorities to clarify this matter.” Boeing also refused to comment on these press reports.
For its part, the American Aviation Agency specified that its Corrective Action Review Board (CARB), composed of safety experts, would “study the message to companies (MOM) proposed by Boeing after the “incident on Latam flight 800”.
“This procedure consists of reviewing the service bulletin linked to the buttons on the pilots’ seats,” added the regulator, specifying that the MOM would be distributed after advice from CARB and that it would continue to “monitor the situation closely”.
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