In March, a Latam Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft suddenly lost altitude mid-flight, sending passengers flying through the cabin and injuring 50 people. At the time, the pilot said he somehow lost control, but quickly regained command. Since then, other similar incidents have taken place on Dreamliners, prompting the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue an Airworthiness Directive (AD) for inspections on the aircraft.
The incident was found to be caused by the pilot’s seat suddenly moving, causing the autopilot to disconnect. Since then, the FAA has received a total of five reports of similar issues with the Dreamliner pilots seats, two of which are still under investigation.
The new AD takes immediate effect and requires airlines to inspect captain and first officer seats for missing or cracked rocker switch caps and for cracked or nonfunctional switch cover assemblies. It applies to Boeing 787-8, 9 and –10 airplanes and airlines have 30 days to carry out the inspections and perform any necessary corrective actions. In total, 158 US-registered aircraft and 737 worldwide have to undergo the checks.
Back in March, although Boeing did not say it was the seat mechanism that caused the incident, it advised airlines to check seat switches during maintenance as a “precautionary measure”. The switches, which can suddenly move the chairs, are not meant to be accessible during flying and the aircraft manufacturer also issued instructions on how to cut power to the motors that move the seats.
When the Latam flight lost altitude, passengers without seatbelts were simply sent flying through the cabin by the sudden loss of altitude. Some people have described the feeling like being “at the top of a rollercoaster” while others said that seeing their fellow passengers with their backs against the ceiling was like a scene out of The Exorcist. “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”, Brian Jokat told RNZ.
Boeing started this year in the news, as a plug-in door on a 737 model blew out mid-air on an Alaska Airline flight, prompting a safety investigation in the company’s manufacturing process. Things have only gone downhill since and now the manufacturer has reported a $1.4 billion loss in the second quarter of 2024 (the months of April, May and June). With revenues 15% below last year’s second quarter, $16.9 billion compared to $19.8 billion in 2023, the company’s losses widely increased compared to the just $149 million in last year’s second quarter.
Amid the worsening financials, the company has also announced the new President and CEO, Kelly Ortberg, who took over from Dave Calhoun on 8 August. Faced with a disastrous year, Calhoun announced in March he would be leaving the company at the end of the year, but was replaced a few months ahead.
