Passengers on Boeing LATAM flight describe fear of being thrown from seats after ‘sudden fall’ in latest 737 disaster that left 50 injured, including some with broken bones
A terrified passenger on board a LATAM Airways Boeing jet described experiencing “the worst turbulence you can imagine” after dozens of people were thrown from their seats mid-flight.
The pilot, Lucas Ellwood, said “everyone was terrified” on board the flight from Sydney, Australia to Auckland, New Zealand on Monday, the latest catastrophe that saw Boeing send at least 10 people to hospital.
“There were people wailing everywhere, there were people hurt everywhere,” he told Good Morning America. “Everyone just hit the roof and fell to the ground.”
Others compared the chaotic scenes as reminiscent of something from ‘The Exorcist’ as reports indicate as many as 50 people were injured in the incident.
It is the latest in a series of aircraft malfunctions and in-flight errors involving Boeing jets that have wiped tens of billions off the company’s market value after incidents such as the blowing out of an emergency door from an Alaska Airlines plane in January.
Passengers aboard a LATAM Airlines flight from Sydney, Australia to Auckland, New Zealand were thrown from the ceiling Monday evening amid ‘terrifying’ turbulence
Up to 50 passengers were injured during the chaotic scenes, with 10 hospitalized with head and neck injuries and broken bones
One passenger described enduring “the worst kind of turbulence you can imagine,” while others compared dozens of flying cabins to scenes from The Exorcist.
The exact reason for the massive turbulence is still unclear, with LATAM Airways saying in a statement only that it came after a ‘technical event’.
Passengers reportedly suffered head and neck injuries, as well as several broken bones, and the aircraft said seven passengers and three cabin crew were hospitalized.
Although no one is believed to have been seriously injured, passengers described how the flight went from calm to panic in a flash.
Many had taken off their seat belts as the journey was uneventful, before the journey suddenly dipped and shook with turbulence, sending many flying into the ceiling.
“It was like the worst kind of turbulence you could imagine,” Ellwood said afterward.
Others described it as something out of a ‘horror movie’ and felt like a roller coaster crashing without warning.
Despite the alarming incident, the Boeing 737-9 Dreamliner continued its journey as planned, landing in Auckland approximately 2 hours and 42 minutes after take-off.
An ambulance leaves Auckland International Airport after a number of passengers were injured
LATAM Airways confirmed in a statement that “some passengers and cabin crew were affected,” but did not elaborate on the cause of the incident.
“They received immediate assistance and, if necessary, were evaluated or treated by medical personnel at the airport,” the statement continued.
“LATAM regrets the inconvenience and harm this situation may have caused to its passengers, and reiterates its commitment to safety as a priority within the framework of its operational standards.”
A Boeing spokesperson told DailyMail.com: “We are working to gather more information about the flight and will provide any support our customers need.”
It is the latest in a series of terrifying incidents involving Boeing planes in recent months, including when a plug door panel burst from an Alaska Airlines flight at 16,000 feet on January 5.
In that incident, over Portland, Oregon, passengers’ phones and clothing were ripped off by the force of turbulence as the pilot made an emergency landing after frantically calling air traffic control.
Boeing’s market value fell by as much as $36 billion in the wake of the Alaska Airlines incident, while some passengers have filed a $1 billion lawsuit against the company.
And in the past week, Boeing has suffered a series of repeat accidents, putting its fleet of 737s under increasing criticism once again.
On January 5, an emergency stop door blew off an Alaska Airlines plane at 16,000 feet, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon.
Passengers had their phones and clothes ripped off by the force of the door’s impact, with the incident leading to a lawsuit from the passengers, while billions were wiped off Boeing’s market value.
Last Monday, a United Airlines engine caught fire and burst into flames over Texas, with images of passengers showing white-hot flashes pouring out of the plane mid-flight.
The heartbreaking moment forced the pilot to make an emergency landing just minutes into the trip to Fort Myers, Florida.
As passengers saw flames coming from one side of the plane, a crew member admitted, “Ladies and gentlemen, we realized something was happening outside…”
The cause of the incident was bubble wrap stuck in the mechanics, but no injuries were reported.
On Thursday, a wheel fell from another jetliner shortly after takeoff in San Francisco, crushing several vehicles underneath in another near miss that left no injuries.
The 256-pound wheel severely damaged a number of cars in the San Francisco airport parking lot, although fortunately there were no people in the crash zone.
Heartbreaking video has captured the moment a Boeing plane’s engines exploded and burst into flames in the skies over Texas, forcing an emergency landing
Shortly after takeoff from San Francisco a week ago, a 256-pound wheel fell from another plane, crushing several underlying vehicles in another near miss that resulted in no injuries
The next day, a United Airlines plane veered off the runway after landing in Houston, forcing an emergency evacuation to the tarmac.
The plane suffered what is believed to have been a form of equipment collapse as it left the runway at George Bush Airport, although the 160 passengers and six crew were not injured.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) also announced this month that it is investigating a separate incident in February in which a Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet suffered a “stuck” rudder pedal.
The NTSB said in a preliminary report on the Feb. 6 flight that the plane taxied to the gate at Newark Airport without incident and that there were no injuries among the 161 passengers and crew.
It reported that the captain said that during the landing rollout, the rudder pedals did not move in response to the ‘normal’ application of foot pressure while attempting to maintain the runway centerline.