LATAM: Update on flight LA800 Sydney to Auckland incident investigation

Industry magazine The Air Current is reporting that the investigation of the LATAM Boeing 787 flight between Sydney and Auckland, which experienced a mid-air dive that injured 50 passengers and crew, will centre around the movement of a flight deck seat.

Since the incident on the flight between Auckland and Santiago, Chile, occurred in international airspace, the investigation will be conducted by the appropriate investigation body of the country of the affected Airline. In this case, Chile’s General Directorate of Civil Aviation will be the investigating body. Representatives are on their way to New Zealand.

Last Monday, the flight heading from Sydney to Auckland dropped abruptly. This caused un-seatbelted passengers and crew to be thrown about the cabin. The result was minor and, in a few cases, more serious injuries.

The flight was met with ambulances and firefighters in case an emergency was in train. The injured passengers were checked over on the tarmac. Some 13 passengers and crew were admitted to hospital, but only a couple were retained overnight.

The Air Current on the LATAM flight

According to the subscription-based magazine The Air Current:

‘One senior airline safety official briefed on the early facts said that based on the available information it was understood that the seat movement was “pilot induced, not intentionally.” Another person familiar with the investigation said “the seat movement caused the nose down” attitude of the aircraft and added that the possibility of an electrical short was also under review. The sequence of events between the seat movement and the steep dive experienced by the aircraft wasn’t yet known’

John Ostrower The Air Current

The aircraft cockpit voice and flight data recorder, colloquially known as the ‘black box’ have already been seized by New Zealand investigators.

2PAXfly Takeout

This kind of incident is rarely caused by one event. So although significant, this seat movement is likely to be attached to other aspects of the aircraft control to explain the incident. However, that conclusion is a long way off, as the causes of aircraft accidents are notoriously complex to unravel.