Latam flight loses altitude from Sydney to Auckland Airport, passengers and crew ‘thrown into ceiling’, 50 injured

Passengers and crew on an inbound flight to Auckland International Airport were thrown into the roof of the plane after a sudden loss of altitude.

A technical problem caused “strong movement” onboard Chilean airline Latam flight LA800 from Sydney to Auckland, which prompted a major emergency service response to the airport.

A passenger on the flight, Priscilla Waller-Subritzky, told the Herald she was watching a movie when the plane lost altitude and “a number of passengers and crew were thrown into the roof of the plane”.

The incident occurred with about an hour left in the flight yesterday.

“I went into fight mode and just started jumping in and helping where I could because the crew were injured so couldn’t help.

Waller-Subritzky said once the adrenaline wore off, she experienced a lot of pain and headed for the emergency department.

An ambulance leaving Auckland International Airport after passengers were injured during a Latam flight from Sydney to Auckland yesterday afternoon. Photo / Dean Purcell

“I’ve been on plenty of flights before but that was completely out the gate.”

Fourteen Hato Hone St John units rushed to the airport yesterday afternoon after they were notified at 3.58pm of an incident onboard the flight.

St John crews treated approximately 50 patients, with one patient in a serious condition and the remainder in a moderate to minor condition. Ten patients were transported to Middlemore Hospital, one to Auckland City Hospital and another to Starship Hospital.

Seven ambulances, two operations managers, two major incident support team vehicles, one command unit and two rapid response vehicles attended the scene.

An ambulance at Auckland International Airport after passengers were injured during a Latam flight from Sydney. Photo / Dean Purcell

Another passenger told the Herald he had never experienced anything like that in 15 years of flying.

“The plane dipped so dramatically into a nose dive for a couple of seconds and around 30 people hit the ceiling hard,” said Daniel.

Daniel, who was travelling from London, said passengers were screaming and it was hard to tell if there was red wine or blood splattered throughout the plane.

“None of us knew what had happened until after the flight, I was just trying to keep everyone calm. We never heard any announcement from the captain.”

Video obtained by the Herald shows multiple distressed passengers holding their heads after the incident.

Approximately 50 patients have been treated by ambulance crews and 13 were transported to Middlemore Hospital. Photo / Dean Purcell

A Latam Airlines spokesperson said three cabin crew members had been taken to Middlemore Hospital for medical checks, with no serious injuries reported.

“Latam deeply regrets any inconvenience and discomfort this situation may have caused its passengers, and reiterates its commitment to safety as a priority within the framework of its operational standards.”

A connecting flight which was bound for Santiago, Chile had been rescheduled for tomorrow and affected passengers were being provided with food and accommodation services.

An Auckland Airport spokesperson said its emergency service team were assisting St John after a request for medical support from a Latam Airlines flight from Sydney.

Additional ambulances were also responding to the incident.

Police said they were aware of the incident and referred all other inquiries to St John.

‘It was like The Exorcist’

Brian Jokat told RNZ the plane “just dropped” about two-thirds of the way through the flight.

“There was no pre-turbulence, we were just sailing smoothly the whole way,” he said.

“I had just dozed off and I luckily had my seatbelt on, and all of a sudden the plane just dropped.

“It wasn’t one of those things where you hit turbulence and you drop a few times ... we just dropped.”

A passenger two seats away from him was not wearing his seatbelt, and flew up and hit the ceiling, Jokat said.

“I thought I was dreaming. I opened my eyes and he was on the roof of the plane on his back, looking down on me. It was like The Exorcist.”

The man then fell back to the floor, breaking his ribs on his arm rest, Jokat said.

Three or four other people had hit the ceiling too, breaking some of the plane’s interior with their heads and shoulders, he said.

“Then people just started screaming. I felt the plane take a nosedive - it felt like it was at the top of a rollercoaster, and then it flattened out again.”

The incident took “split seconds”, Jokat said.

Afterwards, a few doctors on board “patched up” the injured, with the assistance of the flight crew.

There were “some seriously injured people”, he said - some had broken bones, while others had neck and head injuries.

Jokat said the pilot came to the back of the plane once the plane landed.

“I asked him ‘what happened?’ and he said to me ‘I lost my instrumentation briefly and then it just came back all of a sudden’.

“I know he felt really bad for everyone.”

Another passenger, Valentina, told RNZ the plane “just stopped” about 50 minutes out of Auckland.

“People were flying around and everything was super scary,” she said.

“Blood was on the ceiling, people [flew] and broke the ceiling of the plane.”

Valentina said she was “very scared” to get on a flight again.

She received minor injuries during the ordeal, but had been treated and was doing OK, she said.

- with RNZ

Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.