Boeing has ordered airlines to check the cockpit seats of its 787 Dreamliner plane, the company said Friday, after a Latam Airlines plane suddenly crashed Monday on a flight to Auckland, New Zealand, insulting passengers .
The drop in altitude appears to have been caused when a flight attendant flipped a switch on a seat that sent a pilot to the plane’s controls, the Wall Street Journal reported this week, citing unnamed U.S. industry officials. Aviation regulators are investigating the crash and have not released any findings.
In a statement, Boeing said it reminded airlines of a 2017 safety memo instructing them on how to inspect and maintain switches on cockpit seats.
“The investigation into Flight LA800 is ongoing and we defer to the investigating authorities on any potential findings,” the company said. “We recommend operators perform an inspection at the next maintenance opportunity,” he added.
The harrowing crash of the Latam plane was documented in video footage captured by passengers. The plane crashed suddenly and then quickly recovered, said one passenger, Brian Jokat, likening it to “getting to the top of a roller coaster and heading straight down.”
The drop left at least one passenger in critical condition; Eleven other people were also taken to Auckland hospitals after the plane landed. Overall, dozens of passengers suffered injuries, most of them minor.
Regulators, airlines and travelers have been intensely focused on the quality and safety of Boeing planes since a panel broke off from an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 plane on January 11, 2019. 5, forcing a landing of emergency. In 2018 and 2019, two 737 Max 8 planes crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia, killing nearly 350 people.
In a message to 787 jet operators sent Thursday evening, Boeing said it was advising of a “known condition related to a loose/detached rocker switch cap” located on the backs of the captain’s and first officer’s seats, but not said whether switch covers had played a role in the crash on the Latam plane.
“Closing the spring-loaded seatback switch guard over a loose/detached rocker switch cap can potentially jam the rocker switch, resulting in unintended seat movement,” Boeing said.
The memo, a copy of which was reviewed by The New York Times, referenced the 2017 letter, which noted the installation of adhesive on rocker switch caps “to prevent the rocker switch caps from peeling off and /or loosened”.
Boeing recommended that all operators of 787 aircraft inspect the four rocker switches and their caps on the seats.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that Boeing had sent the memo to airlines.
In a memo to 787 flight crews, American Airlines said it had “identified a potential hazard” with the horizontal power control switches on the upper back of the pilots’ seats.
The memo, reviewed by the Times, said the airline’s technology operations team “will ensure these switches are adequately protected” and asked 787 captains “to inform all pilots, flight attendants and seat passengers in flight cockpit of the importance of not using the switch on the top of the pilot’s seat back when the seat is occupied.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement Friday that it will convene a panel of experts to review Boeing’s messages to airlines about the switch, including the 2017 memo, and provide feedback to the company. “The agency will continue to monitor the situation closely,” he said.
The 787 Dreamliner, a twin-aisle jet, is one of Boeing’s flagship aircraft. Its three models can carry 248 to 336 passengers, according to Boeing, and are used by airlines on international and transcontinental flights.
Latam’s plane was flying from Sydney, Australia, to Auckland and was due to continue on to Santiago, Chile, where the airline is based. The company said in a statement Friday that it was working with investigators.
Marco Walker contributed to the reporting.
