Pilot’s seat move may have put Boeing into a nosedive
The movement of a pilot’s seat on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner may have been why the aircraft suddenly nosedived during a flight from Australia on Monday, injuring at least 50 passengers, aviation experts say.
The Latam flight had departed from Sydney and was heading for Auckland in New Zealand when it “froze” in mid-air and went into freefall, throwing passengers up in the air, with some hitting their heads on the ceiling.
A flight deck seat is now one focus of the investigation into the incident.
The Air Current, a reporting and analysis service for the global aerospace and aviation industry, said it was understood that the seat movement was “pilot induced, not intentionally”, citing a senior airline safety official.
“The seat movement caused the nose down” angle of the aircraft, the publication said, citing another anonymous source who added that the possibility of an electrical short was also under review. Boeing is expected to release a message to 787 operators regarding the incident, The Air Current reported, in a sign a fleet-wide issue could be involved – though it said the specific topic of the message was not known.
It is the latest in a series of events that have put US plane giant Boeing under intense scrutiny, including a door plug being blown off an Alaska Airlines 737 in January.
When asked to comment on The Air Current’s report, Boeing told
i that it would defer to air safety investigators. It added: “We are thinking of the passengers and crew from flight LA800, and we commend everyone involved in the response effort. We are in contact with our customer, and Boeing stands ready to support investigation-related activities as requested.”
Chile’s aviation regulator, which is leading the inquiry because the incident involved a Chilean airline flying in international airspace, said that its investigation had “just got under way” and its team had arrived in New Zealand.
Latam Airlines said it was continuing “to work in co-ordination with the authorities to support the investigation” and that it was not appropriate to comment on speculation that had circulated.
The cause of the flight’s apparent sudden change in trajectory has not yet been explained. Safety experts say most aeroplane accidents are caused by a cocktail of factors that need to be thoroughly investigated. New Zealand’s Transport Accident Investigation Commission said on Tuesday it was seizing the cockpit voice recorder and data recorder, which would provide information about pilot conversations and the plane’s movement.
Rhys Jones, the aviation editor at the travel website Head for Points, said the events blighting Boeing pointed to a “huge lapse” in its safety culture.