Passengers and crew on a Latam Airlines flight from Sydney to Auckland were thrown into the roof of the plane after a sudden loss of altitude – with the pilot telling how his instruments failed.
Up to 50 people were injured due to the ‘technical problem’ on the Chilean carrier’s flight LA800 on Monday afternoon, with several emergency personnel and vehicles involved in the response.
Brian Jokat, a passenger on board the Boeing 787-9, said two hours into the three-hour flight that “the plane just fell out of the sky” and the man sitting next to him flew into the air, hit the ceiling with his back, then fell down and hit his head on the armrest.
“The plane then started to nosedive and I just thought, ‘OK, that’s it, we’re done,'” he said Stuff news website.
Jokat, who is Canadian, said there was no turbulence after the incident and after 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 went blank, I lost all ability to fly the plane’.’
About 50 people have been injured on a Latam Airlines flight from Sydney to Auckland on Monday afternoon, with several emergency personnel and vehicles involved in the response
The picture shows a passenger being treated on the floor of the plane
Mr. Jokat told the television station 1 News that the experience ‘was insane – I thought I was dreaming. It was like straight out of The Exorcist’.
He said his shoes were sent “back four rows” and his jacket “flew off the seat”.
‘I had spilled drink on myself, but I was completely unharmed.
“I was really, really lucky, but there were a lot of people crying and cutting and bruised and in shock all around me.”
Another passenger on the plane, Priscilla Waller-Subritzky, said she was watching a movie when the plane suddenly dropped and ‘a number of passengers and crew were thrown into the roof of the plane’.
“I went into battle mode and just started jumping in and helping where I could because the crew was injured so they couldn’t help,” she shared New Zealand Herald.
Thirteen patients, one of whom was in a serious condition, have been taken to Middlemore Hospital, a St John Ambulance spokesman said.
‘Our ambulance crew assessed and treated approximately 50 patients, of which one patient was serious and the rest in a moderate to minor condition.
“So far 13 patients have been transported to Middlemore Hospital by ambulance,” they said in an update issued shortly after 10am. 19 local time.
Earlier, the spokesman said: “We were alerted at 3.58pm and are currently on the scene with four ambulances, two operations managers, a major incident vehicle, a command unit and two rapid response vehicles.”
A woman who was on the flight LA800 Dreamliner service said she experienced a ‘quick little drop’ during the flight.
“I used to be a flight attendant and this is the first time I’ve ever… the whole plane just froze,” she said.
St John’s Ambulance crews treated 24 people at the scene, eight of whom were found to be in a moderate condition and 16 in a minor condition. A St John ambulance is pictured at the scene
An Auckland Airport spokesman said its emergency response team assisted St John following a request for medical attention.
In a statement, Latam Airlines said the flight ‘had an in-flight technical problem which caused a heavy movement’ but that the aircraft landed as planned.
‘As a result of the incident, some passengers and cabin crew were affected. They received immediate assistance and were evaluated or treated by airport medical personnel as needed.
“Latam regrets the inconvenience and harm this situation may have caused its passengers and reiterates its commitment to safety as a priority within its operational standards.”
It was the second incident involving a flight departing from Sydney International Airport on Monday.
Earlier, United Airlines flight 830 to San Francisco was forced to turn around after an emergency in the air.
The flight path of Latam Airlines’ LA800 Dreamliner service from Sydney to Auckland is pictured
A leak was reportedly detected on board the Boeing 777-300 aircraft and it landed back in Sydney at 14.34, just over two and a half hours into the trip.
Firefighters met the plane on the tarmac.
In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, United Airlines said the flight was diverted to Sydney ‘due to a maintenance issue’.
“The aircraft landed safely and passengers disembarked normally at the gate,” it said.
“We will provide overnight accommodation for passengers and rebook them to San Francisco tomorrow.”