Qatar Airways launches internal investigation after pilot 'lost control' causing Boeing 787 Dreamliner to almost crash into sea

The first officer, who was in control of the plane, reportedly lost 1,000 feet in elevation

UPDATED FEB 9, 2023

Qatar Airways launched an internal investigation after Boeing 787 Dreamliner's descent incident (Representative Image/Getty Images)

DOHA, QATAR: Qatar Airways has launched an investigation after a plane almost crashed into the waters of Persian Gulf following a rapid descent last month. On Tuesday, January 10, the 787 Boeing Dreamliner bound for Copenhagen took off from Hamad International Airport at 2.00 am.

The first officer, who was in control of the plane, reportedly lost 1,000 feet in elevation. For unknown reasons, the plane lost control in elevation within 24 seconds. According to The Sun, the officer flew manually without using the automated 'flight director' instructions. A huge disaster was avoided after the captain pulled the plane up by 800 feet as soon as he took charge of the aircraft.

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What happened to the 787 Dreamliner?

The first pilot of the flight that took off from Doha reportedly "lost situational awareness", which led to the aircraft's sudden descent that "exceeded the flap speed limit."

Following the nerve-wracking incident, the plane continued to fly to Denmark. According to Daily Mail, Qatar Airways explained that authorities were immediately informed about the incident and a statement was released by the airline.

In the statement, the popular airline said, "Qatar Airways is aware of an event relating to flight QR161 operating Doha to Copenhagen on January 10, 2023. It was immediately reported to authorities and an internal investigation is being carried out."

"The airline follows the most stringent standards of safety, training, and reporting and is working to address any findings in line with industry norms," added the statement. In 2021, a report suggested that in terms of accidents, the Boeing Dreamliners come among the world's safest planes. Since the flight's use of the model, no events of extensive damages or fatalities have occurred.

'Mere seconds from a complete hull loss'

Among passengers and pilots, reactions poured in as the airways neared a disastrous incident, risking lives in the aircraft. Outrage erupted in a way they called the first pilot's qualifications a nosedive and the comments were made in Aviation Herald's online forum.

"I can’t believe this actually was allowed to happen. This was mere seconds from a complete hull loss. Inexcusable," a user commented while another wrote, "In my humble opinion, this should not happen to an IFR-rated pilot, private or commercial," and someone wrote, "It‘s not about manual flying. You just need to adhere to the flight director, then you will do the same as the A/C would do in an automatic flight. You need to ensure that the FD is properly fed with the correct input data! If the FD gives you a bad indication like capturing an ALT just a few hundred feet AGL in the initial climb-out phase then you need to disregard the FD and fly manually, which could save your life. So like I said in the intro; it‘s not about manual flying!"

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.