Troubled airplane manufacturer Boeing continues to face safety-related issues with its aircraft, a trend that was underscored by an in-flight incident on Monday.
A “technical event” on board a LATAM Airlines flight to New Zealand left several people injured after the aircraft experienced a “strong shake” that sent unsecured passengers careening into the cabin’s roof.
According to a news release, the incident occurred on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner operating the Sydney- Auckland-Santiago route. Flight LA800 was carrying 260 passengers, along with nine flight and cabin crew members.
Even though the flight successfully landed at Auckland Airport, the outgoing trip to Santiago, Chile, was canceled to investigate the cause of the issue.
Ten ambulances met the plane when it arrived to treat the 50 injured persons aboard the flight. Ten passengers and three cabin crew members were taken to Middlemore Hospital for further evaluation, a spokesperson for LATAM Airlines explained.
“LATAM regrets the inconvenience and injury this situation may have caused its passengers and reiterates its commitment to safety as a priority within the framework of its operational standards,” the airline said in a statement.
As a result of the incident, the flight from Auckland to Santiago was rescheduled for Tuesday, March 12. Due to the flight cancellation, the airline is providing impacted passengers with food and accommodations.
Although Monday’s incident is still under investigation, scrutiny over Boeing has been mounting in recent months over the company’s alleged prioritization of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives over fundamentals like passenger safety, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Some recent safety issues include a Boeing aircraft being forced to make an emergency landing earlier this month after catching fire moments after takeoff, a flight from San Francisco to Boston being diverted in February due to the aircraft’s right wing slat becoming dislodged, and the discovery of misaligned holes for the fuselage on the company’s 737 Max. Last week, a United Airlines Boeing 777-200 lost a wheel as it was taking off from San Francisco airport, damaging several parked cars.
