One of the injured passengers on the LATAM flight.
“The ceiling’s broken from people’s heads and bodies hitting it. Basically neck braces were being put on people, guys’ heads were cut and they were bleeding. It was just crazy.”
Jokat luckily had his seatbelt on at the time and walked away from the ordeal unscathed.
Another passenger told the New Zealand Herald that the terrifying incident “validated my belief in seatbelts”. “A man was in the toilet when the jolt happened, he came out of the bathroom with blood streaming down one side of his face,” passenger Lucas Ellwood said.
New Zealand’s transport investigation authority is yet to open an investigation, however, Chile’s General Directorate of Civil Aviation has appointed a representative to help any investigations in New Zealand.
LATAM on Monday referred to the incident as a “technical event” but on Tuesday had updated its statement to call it a “strong shake” that is currently under investigation.
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“As a result of the incident, some passengers and cabin crew were affected. They received immediate assistance and were evaluated or treated by medical staff at the airport as needed,” LATAM Airlines said in a statement.
“LATAM regrets the inconvenience and injury this situation may have caused its passengers, and reiterates its commitment to safety as a priority within the framework of its operational standards.”
Boeing said it was working to gather more information about the flight and will provide support to LATAM.
There has been an increase in incidents plaguing aircraft manufactured by the global giant in recent months. In January, a door plug on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max-9 blew, exposing 177 passengers to the elements mid-flight.
The incident prompted all airline clients to check their fleet of Max-9s and Alaska and rival United Airlines quickly detected multiple other planes with loose bolts.
Boeing’s MAX narrow-body replaced the older 787s (including the Dreamliner) and has four variations – the MAX 7, 8, 9 and 10 – that launched in 2016. The Max aircraft are more fuel-efficient than Boeing’s older 737s and have been quickly embraced by international giants including Ryanair, which has 300 MAX 10s on order.
Boeing was forced to ground all Max 8s across the world after crashes in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019 killed 346 passengers. The aircraft type was cleared to return to service in 2020 and is now used by more than 60 airlines all over the world, some of which fly to and from Australia.
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