This story just keeps getting stranger…
The latest theory of LATAM flight LA800 is that a flight attendant serving a meal in the 787 cockpit was to blame for inadvertently triggering a chain reaction that sent the aircraft plunging.
Could Flight Attendant Be To Blame For Sudden Dive Of LATAM 787?
We’ve covered what occurred and passenger reactions onboard a LATAM Boeing 787-9 flight fom Sydney (SYD) to Auckland (AKL) on Monday, March 11, 2024:
- Chilling: “Technical Incident” Sends Boeing 787 Into Sudden Dive
- Passenger On Terrifying LATAM 787 Flight Talks About What Happened And His Conversation With Captain
The sudden drop injured 50 passengers onboard and sent 12 to an Auckland hospital.
It was claimed by one passenger that the captain blamed the incident on cockpit instrumentation blacking out unexpectedly.
But now a new theory has emerged involving the inadvertent action of a flight attendant:
A Latam Airlines flight attendant hit a switch on the pilot’s seat while serving a meal, leading a motorized feature to push the pilot into the controls and push down the plane’s nose, these officials said. The switch has a cover and isn’t supposed to be used when a pilot is in the seat.
Jon Ostroer of The Air Current was first to break this news, though The Wall Street Journal has filled in more details.
LATAM has declined to comment on this theory and so has Boeing:
“We are in contact with our customer, and Boeing stands ready to support investigation-related activities as requested.”
Investigators from Chile’s civil aviation agency have flown to New Zealand to conduct interviews as part of their investigation. The aircraft flew back to Santiago, Chile (SCL), where it is currently parked and out of service.
CONCLUSION
Admittedly, this theory makes a lot more sense (and is also more comforting) than flight deck screens suddenly shutting off. While too early to definitively conclude this is what happened, it is the new working theory and one that is much easier to address for both Boeing and LATAM.
image: LATAM
Accidents can happen . Perhaps the cover was not secured by the maintenance engineer ?
The FA did say she was really sorry .
I can’t imagine this was inadvertent. One plausible explanation is the pilot had a food tray in his lap, the FA hit the switch on the back of the seat as a prank, the tray pushed the yoke forward enough to disconnect the autopilot and the negative G’s ensued.
Hmm. So did this seat switch activate a catapult that could not be stopped? Trying to imagine a motorized seat moving that quickly, and no, I cannot see it. Uncomfortable with the way this story is developing. A lot of people were seriously injured.
Why would LATAM put out a false statement blaming the entire event on a technical issue? Given the current environment Boeing finds itself in was this an attempt by LATAM to place blame on Boeing hoping this incident would be another Boeing story that Boeing would have to explain?
One of the pilots through no fault of their own pushed forward on the controls after a flight attendant inadvertently moved their seat causing the plane to nose dive. Why was there an attempt to place the blame on Boeing claiming a technical issue instead of LAATAM just owning it and telling the truth.
Investigators can’t be to pleased with LATAM right now. They were hunting for a technical issue based on what the pilots and LATAM said when all along there was in fact no technical issue and the plane did what the pilot told it to do when one of them pushed forward on the yoke causing the plane to nose dive.
@proschwitz … +1 . Also , Beneath every first explanation , is a trap door disclosing more information beneath . This is the reason for Public Relations people , to place a rug on top of the trap door .
Yes seems the airline thoughts it would be easier to put blame on Boeing since there’s already so many issues. The screens blacking out and the plane nose diving doesn’t make sense, even if the screen blacks out you keep the plane moving steady till they come back on.
If this is true, then the entire crew lied and attempted to cover it up. Not good.
I’m not buying into this on its own as a singular cause. The whole thing is bizarre. I think the end report will be a few factors coming together all at once. Planes don’t fall from the sky in such an immediate and dramatic fashion creating G forces so powerful that people experienced weightlessness. Nor would a pilot lie about the screens going blank knowing full well that an investigation would take place. He may have left out other details (like the seat) but I can’t imagine he just made up something that never happened.
Does it not sound more plausible that the screens went blank while the FA was bringing a meal to the pilot. As the screens went dark she was thrust into his seat given disconnect of autopilot. At that point she accidentally hit the button moving the seat which further caused the pilot to lose control temporarily.
@Stuart … +1 . Good hypothesis .
@ Stuart
I’ll need the reenactment video
How naive all of you. Just wanted to see this pilot explaining this to his wife
Finally. Someone else gets it. Lot of naive people here.
You think this is all about the pilot having a tryst with a flight attendant in the cockpit?
Giggedy.
Shouldn’t this seat switch be located in a place that someone can’t trigger it by accident?
@Santastico … If it has a cover , then it ought to be fine .
Interesting. Didnt know there was a “immediately drop 10000 feet” button on B787s
I don’t BELIEVE IT..!!
More like the first officer or captain bumped the yoke while exiting the seat to go to the toilet.
Maybe the tray on his lap sticking out pushed the yoke when the seat moved
The hair triggers in the comments looking for some kind of systemic electronics issue from a Boeing plane and dissatisfied by an explanation that felt like an accident…
Well looks like you’re getting what you want in a more nuts and bolts way.
Boeing put out a tech briefing asking airlines to check for loose covers on seat switches.
Serving lunch eh??? I get it.
Yeah that’s what the kids call it these days “serving lunch”
Isn’t lunch always served 50 minutes prior to landing?? LOL
Although this is old news, it reminds me of this tragic incident: Aeroflot Flight 593
I can understand why airline pilots can sometimes be the more arrogant dorks in the world worse than Biff on Back to the Future. They are highly trained, accountable, and needing to be meticulous to detail.
Flight Attendants are trained to Serve the Captain from his left shoulder. First Officer is served over his right shoulder. With removal of meal trays etc, right arm for Captain and left arm for First Officer. This is to prevent FA from being near controls and instruments. Wonder what FA did if this is true?