San Francisco-bound United Airlines plane plunges 800ft toward Pacific Ocean near Hawaii within seconds of takeoff
MAUI, HAWAII: Passengers of United Airlines had the scare of their lives when the United Airlines flight they were traveling in sank 800 feet into the Pacific Ocean. The incident that went unreported took place on December 18, 2022, when the plane took off from Hawaii. Within just 71 seconds after taking off, the United Airlines Flight UA 1722 from Kahului Airport in Maui went down around 2.49 pm local time, as per Flight Radar data.
The San Francisco-bound flight was flying at an altitude of 2,200 feet before it plunged and dropped to 775 feet over the Pacific Ocean, reported The Air Current. The plane went down at a vertical rate of nearly 8,600 feet per minute. The data further showed that the flight made the recovery within a minute after the dip and regained an altitude of 2,350 feet soon, according to NBC News.
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Numerous showers and thunderstorms will continue through Monday. Some storms may be severe tonight and Monday. Any severe storms will be capable of producing strong winds and hail. Strong and damaging southwest winds will develop tonight and continue through Monday. pic.twitter.com/XlF2i6Rf4C
— NWSHonolulu (@NWSHonolulu) December 18, 2022
Maui had thunderstorm warnings that day
The National Weather Service Office in Honolulu's Twitter post on the same day updated, “Numerous showers and thunderstorms will continue through Monday. Some storms may be severe tonight and Monday. Any severe storms will be capable of producing strong winds and hail. Strong and damaging southwest winds will develop tonight and continue through Monday.” The record shows that Maui was under flash flood warnings, gale warnings, and high surf. There were no more hiccups and United Airlines arrived at its destination San Francisco at 9.03 pm local time.
'Safety remains our highest priority'
Once safely landing at SFO, Unithe airlines ted confirmed that the pilots filed “the appropriate safety report.” United Airlines, in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Air Line Pilots Association, went ahead "on an investigation that ultimately resulted in the pilots receiving additional training," it said, before adding, "Safety remains our highest priority.
”The airline informed that the two pilots flying the plane have around 25,000 hours of flying experience between them, and completely cooperated with the investigation. Their training program is ongoing and refused to provide any further details.
In an unrelated incident, a plane almost crashed into the waters of the Persian Gulf following a rapid descent last month. On Tuesday, January 10, 2023, the 787 Boeing Dreamliner bound for Copenhagen took off from Hamad International Airport at 2.00 am. MEAWW reports, the first officer, who was in control of the plane, reportedly lost 1,000 feet in elevation. The plane lost control in elevation within 24 seconds, while the investigation is still on. 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.