A Boeing 737 Max 8 narrowly avoided disaster off Kauai, Hawaii, when bad weather forced a drastic course change, bringing the plane within 400 feet of the Pacific Ocean.
In a flight note obtained by Bloomberg News, it was confirmed that Southwest Flight 2786 departed April 11 from Honolulu International Airport to Lihue Airport on Kauai.
The plane fell nearly 16,000 feet to an altitude of 409 feet after an aborted landing attempt as a result of a storm.
The Southwest memo revealed that the situation resulted from a failed landing attempt on Kauai due to poor visibility that prevented the pilots from detecting the runway at their descent altitude.
The memo also noted that, despite the bad weather, the captain insisted that the “newest” first officer take command of the 100-mile inter-island flight.
A Boeing 737 Max 8 narrowly avoided disaster off Kauai, Hawaii, when bad weather forced a drastic course change, bringing the plane within 400 feet of the Pacific Ocean.
In a flight note obtained by Bloomberg News, it was confirmed that Southwest Flight 2786 departed April 11 from Honolulu International Airport to Lihue Airport on Kauai.
With fewer miles under his belt, the less experienced first officer made a critical error and accidentally pushed the controls forward, unbalancing the plane and causing a rapid descent after slowing down.
The warning system sounded as a result of the pilot’s sudden movement, warning him that the plane was getting too close to the ground.
According to the memo, the captain ordered the first officer to increase engine power, forcing the plane into a steep climb of 8,500 feet per minute.
Although the inter-island journey should have taken only 22 minutes, the flight took almost an hour and a half to land. The flight departed at 6:45 p.m. and landed at 8:09 p.m.
Fortunately, no one was injured.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Southwest Airlines wrote: ‘Nothing is more important to Southwest than safety. Through our robust Safety Management System, the event was appropriately addressed as we always strive for continuous improvement.”
The Federal Aviation Administration is currently investigating the situation.