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LATAM Airlines Sydney to Auckland flight: 50 people treated after mid-air incident
People “flew through the cabin” after an incident on board a flight to Auckland that left blood on the plane’s ceiling, a person seriously injured, and saw 50 treated by Hato Hone St John Ambulance.
LATAM Airlines Group said flight LA800 had a “technical problem during the flight which caused a strong movement” on its way from Sydney to Auckland.
Were you on the flight? Email iwitness@rnz.co.nz.
“Some passengers and cabin crew were affected. They received immediate assistance and were evaluated or treated by medical staff at the airport as needed.”
A passenger on board the flight, who gave his name as Jacinto, said there was a “mid-air drop” that affected multiple passengers.
“People flew through the cabin,” he said.
“People got pretty injured.”
A number of passengers were not wearing their seatbelts at the time, he said.
“People were really scared as well.”
‘People just started screaming’
Passenger Brian Jokat said the plane “just dropped” about two-thirds of the way through the flight.
“There was no pre-turbulence, we were just sailing smoothly the whole way,” he said.
Parts of the plane’s ceiling were damaged by people flying into it. Photo: Supplied/Brian Jokat
“I had just dozed off and I luckily had my seatbelt on, and all of a sudden the plane just dropped.
“It wasn’t one of those things where you hit turbulence and you drop a few times … we just dropped.”
A passenger two seats away from him was not wearing his seatbelt, and flew up and hit the ceiling, Jokat said.
“I thought I was dreaming. I opened my eyes and he was on the roof of the plane on his back, looking down on me. It was like The Exorcist.”
The man then fell back to the floor, breaking his ribs on his arm rest, Jokat said.
Some passengers had head injuries, while others were put into neck braces by paramedics. Photo: Supplied/Brian Jokat
Three or four other people had hit the ceiling too, breaking some of the plane’s interior with their heads and shoulders, he said.
“Then people just started screaming. I felt the plane take a nosedive – it felt like it was at the top of a rollercoaster, and then it flattened out again.”
The incident took “split seconds”, Jokat said.
A passenger suffered arm and leg injuries. Photo: Supplied/Brian Jokat
Afterwards, a few doctors on board “patched up” the injured, with the assistance of the flight crew.
There were “some seriously injured people”, he said – some had broken bones, while others had neck and head injuries.
Jokat said the pilot came to the back of the plane once the plane landed.
“I asked him ‘what happened?’ and he said to me ‘I lost my instrumentation briefly and then it just came back all of a sudden’.
“I know he felt really bad for everyone.”
Another passenger, Valentina, said the plane “just stopped” about 50 minutes out of Auckland.
“People were flying around and everything was super scary,” she said.
“Blood was on the ceiling, people [flew] and broke the ceiling of the plane.”
Valentina said she was “very scared” to get on a flight again.
She received minor injuries during the ordeal, but had been treated and was doing OK, she said.
50 patients treated, 12 hospitalised
St John Ambulance said it was notified of the incident at 3.58pm.
It sent 14 units including seven ambulances, two operations managers, two Major Incident Support Team vehicle, one Command Unit, and two rapid response vehicles rushed to Auckland International Airport.
“Our ambulance crews assessed and treated approximately 50 patients, with one patient in a serious condition and the remainder in a moderate to minor condition,” St John Ambulance said.
“Twelve patients were transported to hospital – 10 were taken to Middlemore Hospital, including one patient in a serious condition, one patient was transported to Auckland City Hospital in a moderate condition, and one patient was taken to Starship Hospital in a moderate condition.”
Auckland Airport said in a statement its emergency service team “responded to a request for medical support” from the LATAM flight.
The plane involved was a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
It landed at Auckland Airport about 4.30pm as scheduled.
Ongoing flight cancelled
LATAM Airlines Group said it regretted the “inconvenience and injury” the situation had caused its passengers.
The plane’s next flight to Santiago – originally due to leave Auckland Airport at 6.40pm on Monday – had been cancelled.
A new flight – LA1130 – had been scheduled for Tuesday, departing Auckland at 8pm for Santiago.
“LATAM is providing affected passengers with food and accommodation services due to the flight cancellation.”
People queue at Auckland Airport after a Monday evening LATAM flight to Chile was cancelled. Photo: RNZ/Maia Ingoe
Three crew members were among those transported to hospital, the airline said.
LATAM is Chile’s national airline and flies frequently between Auckland and Santiago.
Problems with Dreamliners overseas
It is not yet known what caused the “technical problem” on the flight to Auckland.
In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration last week reported an issue with Boeing Dreamliners’ de-icing systems, according to CNN.
The administration said a damaged seal could impact an engine inlet, risking serious damage to the plane.
The issue was moving through the administration’s standard process for “developing airworthiness directives”, CNN said, which meant it did not believe the issue was severe enough to pull the planes from service.
Boeing’s 737 Max has also come under scrutiny after an emergency exit blew out after taking off from Portland, Oregon on 5 January.
That plane landed quickly and no-one was hurt.
A Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson said the authority was aware of the incident.
“The immediate response was handled by Auckland Airport alongside emergency services.
“The incident has not yet been formally reported to CAA, though we would expect this in the coming days in accordance with CAA rules.”
When the report was received, the authority would work with the operator to find out exactly what happened and why, the spokesperson said.
It would also determine “whether any subsequent actions are necessary from a safety perspective”.
rnz
The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
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