A new theory has emerged as to why a plane suddenly plunged 100 meters and injured 50 people on a flight from Sydney to Auckland, while a shocking image shows one of its wings covered in tape just days earlier.
The sudden drop could have been caused by a problem with the electric seat mechanism in the cockpit of Chilean Latam Airlines flight LA800, which then pushed the pilot into air traffic control, a new theory suggests.
And Thursday night New Zealand Herald published a photo showing the Boeing 787-9 aircraft with heavy use of tape on one of the wings.
The photo was taken by a passenger who was very concerned about it, while a woman who flew on the same route with Latam in January also noticed the same tape.
‘When I saw how old the plane was, I was horrified. The wings were held together by what looked like black masking tape. I am certainly not surprised by this recent incident, she said.
A shocking image of the plane which plunged 100 meters and injured 50 people on a Sydney to Auckland flight shows one of its wings covered in tape (pictured) just days earlier
Latam Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, which suddenly lost altitude mid-flight a day earlier, is seen on the tarmac of Auckland International Airport in Auckland on March 12, 2024
But a Latam spokeswoman told the NZ Herald the tape pictured is aeronautical tape, also known as high-speed tape.
“The use of aeronautical tape is approved by regulatory authorities, aviation authorities and aircraft manufacturers and is only used temporarily for discolouration of the aircraft wing without affecting the functionality of the aircraft.
“Latam Airlines prioritizes safety above all else,” she said.
Although the tape may look like regular duct tape, the material used on airplane wings is actually an aluminum-based material known to be safe for certain types of repairs.
Earlier Thursday, a theory emerged about the flight that said the sudden drop could have been caused by an electric seat mechanism in the cockpit that pushed the pilot into the flight controls.
Former Qantas pilot Richard de Crespigny told Channel 7’s Sunrise that that theory was very possible and that a similar incident happened on a Royal Air Force A-330 flight.
“The pilot put his camera down next to the side stick, the seat moved forward, pushed the camera into the side stick and the plane overturned,” he said.
‘It is important that people do not have things lying around the cockpit which can interfere (with the controls).
‘This is one of the thoughts about what happened, but there were also, I think, power cuts, or there may have been weather.’
Sir. however, de Crespigny cautioned against panicking or jumping to conclusions about what happened.
“Aviation is safe. Last year, no one died in 37 million flights, four billion people, he said.
Brian Jokat, a passenger on the Latam flight, said two hours into the three-hour journey “the plane just fell out of the sky” and the man sitting next to him flew into the air, hit the ceiling, fell then down and hit his head on an armrest.
Passenger Janet Baker prepares to check in at Auckland International Airport in New Zealand for a rescheduled Latam Airlines flight to Santiago, Chile on Tuesday, March 12, 2024
“The plane then started to take a nose dive and I just thought, ‘OK, that’s it, we’re done,'” he recounted. Stuff news website.
Jokat, who is Canadian, said there was no turbulence after the incident and when the plane landed in Auckland the pilot in the back of the plane went into ‘shock’.
‘I asked ‘What happened?’ and he said ‘My gauges just shut down, I lost all ability to fly the plane’.’
Fifty people were treated by St John Ambulance paramedics on the ground at Auckland International Airport, with 13 taken to Middlemore Hospital.
One of the patients is said to be in a serious condition.
Passenger Lucas Ellwood told Sunrise about the chaotic scenes on the Latam flight.
The flight path of Latam Airlines’ LA800 Dreamliner service from Sydney to Auckland is pictured
Fifty passengers were injured in the chaotic scenes, with 13 hospitalized with head and neck injuries and broken bones. An injured person on the plane is pictured
‘We were finishing lunch (when it happened). There was wine on the roof and there were people on the roof, it was just a scary, scary moment, he said.
Several passengers were reportedly not wearing their seat belts, which contributed to the high number of injuries.
Sir. Ellwood was holding her iPad and completing a passenger declaration for New Zealand when the incident happened, but was wearing her seat belt.
“The declaration form and my iPad both hit the roof and crashed immediately. It was crazy’.