A US federal investigation is underway after a Southwest Airlines flight came within 400 feet of crashing into the ocean off the coast of a Hawaiian island in April this year.
The incident aboard Southwest Flight 2786 came to light publicly after Bloomberg reported on a memo to pilots about the incident over the weekend.
The memo indicated a "newer" first officer was flying the plane at the time and inadvertently pushed forward on the control column.
Flight tracking data shows the Boeing 737 Max 8 dropping at a rate of more than 4000 feet a minute while just 600 feet above sea level, getting as low as 400 feet before climbing again.
In a statement to CNN, Southwest acknowledged the incident but did not address the memo or why the incident took place.
"Nothing is more important to Southwest than Safety," the airline said.
"Through our robust Safety Management System, the event was addressed appropriately as we always strive for continuous improvement."
The flight was an inter-island flight between Honolulu Airport and Lihue Airport on the neighbouring island of Kauai. The internal memo said pilots decided to abort a landing there in bad weather and returned to Honolulu.
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