- Written by Tom Espiner
- Business correspondent, BBC News
Image source, Getty Images
Latam says the incident involved a Boeing 787 Dreamliner
Boeing has told airlines operating the 787 Dreamliner that pilots need to have their seats checked as an investigation into an accident on a LATAM flight continues.
It comes after 50 people were injured this week when a 787 suddenly went down during a LATAM flight.
The Wall Street Journal It was reported that a flight attendant accidentally hit a switch on the pilot's seat, knocking the pilot to the controls, causing the plane to nose down.
LATAM supports investigations.
During the accident, people were thrown onto the roof of the plane, which was en route from Australia to New Zealand.
Passenger Brian Jukat said at the time that a number of people had suffered head injuries.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Gokat revealed that people hit the roof with such force that “some of the roof panels were broken”.
He added that the person next to him appeared to be “attached to the ceiling.”
“I thought for a split second: 'This is it,'” he said.
Emergency services later said one person was in serious condition.
Boeing said: “The investigation into Flight LA800 is ongoing and we refer any potential findings to the investigating authorities.”
“We took the precautionary measure of reminding 787 operators of a 2017 service bulletin that included instructions for inspecting and maintaining the switches on the flight deck seats.”
It recommended that operators perform an inspection of the switches “at the next maintenance opportunity.”
Chilean-Brazilian airline LATAM Airlines said it “continues to work in coordination with the authorities in order to support the ongoing investigation.”
The plane was scheduled to travel from Auckland to Santiago, the capital of Chile.
The departure has been canceled and a new flight is scheduled for Tuesday.
The incident comes after a door panel fell off a Boeing plane in January this year, with a report in February finding that screws meant to secure the panel were missing.
This week, a former Boeing employee known for raising concerns about the company's production standards was found dead in the United States.
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