A LATAM Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which suddenly lost altitude in mid-flight the day before, parked on the tarmac at Auckland International Airport, March 12, 2024 in New Zealand (AFP/BRETT PHIBBS )
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing has reminded airlines operating 787 Dreamliners as a “precaution” to inspect certain buttons in the cockpits, after an in-flight incident in New Zealand that left numerous injured.
“The investigation into flight LA800 is still ongoing and we leave it to the investigating authorities to discuss possible discoveries,” Boeing said on Friday.
“We have taken a precautionary measure by reminding 787 operators of a 2017 service bulletin that included instructions regarding the inspection and maintenance of buttons on cockpit seats,” continued the American aircraft manufacturer, recommending operators “conduct an inspection at the next maintenance opportunity.”
Boeing often issues advice and recommendations regarding its aircraft fleets. But, this time, it comes in a very specific context.
The plane of the Chilean company Latam, which was flying from Sydney in Australia to Auckland in New Zealand on Monday, suddenly lost altitude above the Tasman Sea.
The company cited a “technical incident”, which propelled those whose seat belts were unfastened to the ceiling. Around fifty people required treatment, thirteen of whom were transported to hospital.
The Wall Street Journal, referring to American sources in the airline sector, wrote on Friday that the incident was caused by clumsiness by the flight attendants.
“A cabin crew member touched a button on the pilot’s seat while serving a meal, activating a motorized device that threw the pilot against the controls and caused the plane’s nose to pitch down,” the WSJ explains.
The button in question, he adds, “is normally covered (with protection) and is not intended to be used while the pilot is in the seat.”
Contacted in Chile by AFP, the Latam company refused to comment “because an investigation is underway. From the beginning, we have collaborated with the authorities to clarify this matter.”
Boeing also refused to comment on these press reports.
For its part, the American Aviation Agency specified that its Corrective Action Review Board (CARB), composed of safety experts, would “study the message to companies (MOM) proposed by Boeing after the “incident on Latam flight 800”.
“This procedure consists of reviewing the service bulletin related to the buttons on the pilots’ seats,” added the regulator, specifying that the MOM would be distributed after advice from CARB and that it would continue to “monitor the situation closely”.
© 2024 AFP
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