Fifty passengers aboard a LATAM flight from Sydney to Auckland were injured yesterday after a “technical error” saw people flung from their seats.
In a statement, LATAM Airlines reported that flight LA800 — a Boeing 787 Dreamliner service flying between Sydney and Auckland — "had a technical problem during the flight which caused a strong movement". Thirteen people were taken to hospital after landing, with one in serious condition.
The horror flight isn’t the only time this kind of incident has happened in recent years, with "strong movement" occasionally creating chaos aboard planes.
In August 2023, A Delta flight caught in severe turbulence sent passengers “flying up out of their seats”.
In July last year, a Hawaiian Airlines en route to Australia was shaken by “severe turbulence”, injuring seven people.
Just months earlier, in December 2022, another Hawaiian Airlines flight suffered the same fate – with 36 people injured after encountering turbulence.
Twenty people, including a 14-month-old baby, were taken to hospital.
Cracks could be seen on the cabin roof, where it appears passengers had slammed into it.
When a Lufthansa flight from Texas to Germany last year hit “clear air turbulence” midway through the dinner service, food was sent flying around the cabin.
“During dinner service, there suddenly was a wind shear, the plane increased altitude, then we fell 1,000 feet,” a passenger told CNN at the time.
“It was like unexpectedly free-falling for five seconds off the top of a rollercoaster. Plates and glassware were up at the ceiling, and my purse from the floor flew behind me to the right.”
The plane’s aisles were littered with half-eaten dinners and spilt drinks. Seven people were taken to hospital.
In March 2023, a former White House staffer was killed when a private jet she was flying in hit turbulence. It’s understood Dana Hyde’s fatal injuries were caused during the jolting.
Ashok Poduval, head of the School of Aviation at Massey University and a former commercial airline pilot, explained that unexpected turbulence can strike at any time during a flight.
"Turbulence is when there is no sign of bad weather and due to wind currents, which may be quite strong, like the jet stream, etc. Turbulence can cause a sudden drop in altitude or severe turbulence, suddenly, which would cause injuries.
"[Passengers and cabin crew] may not be seated or strapped in... people may be walking around the cabin.
"You could have the cabin bins overhead opening and landing on passengers. People who are even seated might be flung up and then land badly, which is why most airlines recommend that when seated, at least have your seatbelt loosely strapped.”
During yesterday’s flight, passenger Lucas Elwood said the sudden movement “hit without any warning.”
“It seemed like the entire plane turned off and it dropped a significant distance. All the people not wearing seatbelts hit the roof, all cell phones hit the roof. Within a moment, everything fell down, bags everywhere, wine everywhere, people screaming."
In a statement LATAM said it "regrets the inconvenience and injury this situation may have caused its passengers and reiterates its commitment to safety as a priority within the framework of its operational standards".
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