It can also be caused by a malfunction with the autopilot system, Poduval said.
According to passenger accounts, nature likely wasn’t the cause of the incident.
In a statement about the incident, Latam Airlines said it was “a technical event during the flight which caused a strong movement.”
One of the passengers on board, Brian Jokat told RNZ the pilot revealed the cause for the drop soon after the incident.
“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,’” he told RNZ.
Jokat elaborated during an interview with Stuff and said the pilot told him the “gauges just blanked out” and he lost the ability to fly the plane.
Latam Airlines said it was working with respective authorities to investigate the incident. The airline declined to comment on who those authorities were and how long they expected the investigation to take.
What are the issues with Boeing planes?
Boeing has been in the media spotlight several times recently related to issues with aircraft.
A Boeing 737 made an emergency landing in Houston, Texas on March 4 following an engine fire caused by plastic bubble wrap found on the airfield. On March 6, a Boeing 737-800 emergency landed in Portland, Oregon after reports of fumes in the cabin.
On March 9, a 62-year-old former Being employee died from “self-inflicted” wounds just days after giving evidence in a lawsuit against the company. John Barnett, who had worked for the company for 32 years, had since become a whistleblower about the company, the BBC reported.
In January, travellers were shocked when a door plug blew off an Alaskan Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 and items (including an iPhone that managed to survive the fall thanks to this case) were sucked out.
These issues follow the end of a six-week audit of Boeing, run by the Federal Aviation Administration. The audit found issues with “Boeing’s manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control,” according to reports from National Public Radio.
What other airlines have Boeing 787s?
If the issue was with the Boeing 787, it’s fair to wonder what other airlines use this model of aircraft.
Air New Zealand currently have 14 Beoing 787s in operation, which are, on average, 7.1 years old, but declined comment on the Latam Airlines incident as it was not their aircraft.
Today, the airline announced it will suspend its Auckland-Chicago route temporarily, which used Boeing 787s, due to “ongoing challenges” related to the availability of serviceable engines.
Is it common for planes to drop?
Turbulence is a common (and unsettling) experience but it’s a phenomenon that is almost always harmless, for passengers and the aircraft.
Fortunately, the freak drop Latam passengers experienced is a “once-in-a-lifetime” incident, according to Poduval.
Is it safe to fly on a Boeing aircraft?
Following the recent issues, it’s natural to feel hesitant about hopping aboard a Boeing aircraft.
However, experts appear confident that, by and large, it’s safe to fly.
Speaking to CNN Travel, aviation safety expert, Geoffrey Thomas said statistics were on travellers’ side.
“One of the things about aviation, as time goes by, is that manufacturers and airlines learn from their mistakes, and put systems in place to ensure they don’t make them again,” he said.
“So statistically, over time, flying gets safer and safer and safer.”
Thomas is also the editor-in-chief of Airline Ratings, an online publication that shares safety ratings for different airlines and aircraft.
A recent ranking found the Boeing 787 (which the Latam flight was) to be one of the safest to fly, as it has never been involved in a fatal accident. Others included the Boeing 777-300ER, Airbus A380, A220 and A320neo.
As for airlines, Kiwis will be pleased to know Airline Ratings found Air New Zealand to be the most safe, as well as Qantas, Virgin Australia, Emirates, Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways.
Given the rate of car accidents, other aviation experts have also raised the point that, statistically, one is more likely to have an accident en route to an airport than flying out of it.
