The Briefing Room
General Category => National/Breaking News => Topic started by: mystery-ak on February 13, 2023, 09:21:36 pm
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February 13, 2023 12:53pm EST
United Airlines flight plunged to within 800 feet of Pacific Ocean after takeoff, data shows
United Airlines Flight UA1722 was traveling between Kahului, Hawaii, and San Francisco
By Greg Norman FOXBusiness
A United Airlines flight that departed Hawaii for San Francisco late last year came just 775 feet from crashing into the Pacific Ocean, data shows.
Statistics provided by Flightradar24 and first reported by aviation news website The Air Current show that United Airlines Flight UA1722 reached an altitude of 2,200 feet about a minute after takeoff from Maui on Dec. 18, 2022, before plunging to 775 feet above sea level nearly 20 seconds later.
The Boeing 777-200 then began climbing again and reached its normal altitude before arriving in California.
"After landing at SFO, the pilots filed the appropriate safety report," a United Airlines spokesman told FOX Business in a statement. "United then closely coordinated with the FAA and ALPA [Air Line Pilots Association] on an investigation that ultimately resulted in the pilots receiving additional training. Safety remains our highest priority."
(https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxbusiness.com/foxbusiness.com/content/uploads/2023/02/1862/1046/UA1722-path.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
The flight path of United Airlines Flight 1722 on Dec. 18, 2022, after it left Kahului, Hawaii. (Courtesy of Flightradar24.com)
The spokesman added that the pilots involved fully cooperated with the investigation and have around 25,000 hours of flying experience between them.
However, United Airlines, when asked by FOX Business about what caused the plane to plummet, said it didn't have "anything additional" to share.
more
https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/united-airlines-flight-plunged-800-feet-pacific-ocean-takeoff-data-shows
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Perhaps the Flight Channel will do a reenactment video. https://www.youtube.com/@theflightchannel/videos
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So it sounds like pilot error due to the lack of training.
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At the end of that long flight, some poor b2st@rd is going to have to clean that plane...
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United pilots retrained after plane nose-dived just 775 feet above Pacific Ocean, airline says
NY Post, Feb 14, 2023
The United Airlines pilots who were in the cockpit when their plane nosedived after taking off in Hawaii have been retrained, officials said — as aviation experts speculate they may have forgotten to program the aircraft’s autopilot.
The Boeing 777 dramatically plunged for about 10 seconds shortly after it took off from Maui International Airport bound for San Francisco on Dec. 18 and came within 775 feet of crashing into the Pacific Ocean.
“United then closely coordinated with the FAA and ALPA (Air Line Pilots Association) on an investigation that ultimately resulted in the pilots receiving additional training. Safety remains our highest priority,” United rep Josh Freed told The Post.
The plane had reached an altitude of about 2,200 feet before it plummeted 1,400 feet about a minute into the flight — reaching a descent rate of almost 8,600 feet per minute before the pilots regained control.
Some flight experts have suggested that the terrifying plunge could have been caused by the pilots forgetting to program the plane’s autopilot feature.
It’s likely the pilots would want to use autopilot due to rainy weather conditions, aviation consultant Kit Derby told The Daily Mail.
“So one of the things that pilots do is set an altitude, which is a target for the autopilot. If that altitude was set lower [then the current altitude] then the autopilot would descend,” Derby said.
Once pilots receive clearance for takeoff, they typically set the autopilot to the correct altitude, he said. “If that step didn’t occur, then it could still be at the airport elevation, which would be below you at this point,” he said.
Derby also speculated that the autopilot could have malfunctioned, but noted such incidents are “extremely rare.” It’s also unlikely that the plane itself suffered some kind of malfunction.
“They weren’t very high. And they came very close to the water. But they didn’t really lose that much altitude, I mean, 500 feet or so is not a lot of altitude in the big picture unless you’re close to the ground,” Derby added.
Investigators will review all of the plane’s systems as well as the weather conditions at the time before concretely concluding what went wrong, aviation safety expert Anthony Brickhouse of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University told the Daily Mail.
Brickhouse said he found it “very concerning” that the plane decided to continue its flight to San Francisco after nearly diving into the sea.
“So speaking purely from a safety perspective, I would have preferred to see that aircraft, you know, turn around and land back at Maui, and make sure that the aircraft was in good condition,” he said.
https://nypost.com/2023/02/14/united-pilots-retrained-after-plane-nose-dived-above-pacific-airline/amp/
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Brickhouse said he found it “very concerning” that the plane decided to continue its flight to San Francisco after nearly diving into the sea.
The plane decided.
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The plane decided.
Just like guns murder and SUVs plow into parade participants. *****rollingeyes*****