A Southwest Airlines flight came perilously close to disaster, heading into the ocean off the coast of a Hawaiian island, prompting a federal investigation. The incident, which occurred on April 11 aboard Southwest Flight 2786, only recently gained public attention. The flight, an inter-island hop from Honolulu's main airport to Lihue Airport on the neighboring island of Kauai, saw the plane drop at more than 4,000 feet per minute while only 600 feet above sea level. The Boeing 737 Max 8 managed to climb quickly after flying up to 400 feet.
The incident reportedly involved a “new” first officer who inadvertently advanced the control column. That information was revealed in an internal memo sent to pilots by Southwest, which also said the pilots decided to abort a landing due to bad weather. After the aborted landing, tracking data shows the plane returned to Honolulu.
Southwest Airlines, in a brief statement, acknowledged the incident but did not comment on the note or the reasons behind the near-disaster. The airline emphasized its commitment to safety, stating that the incident was adequately addressed through its robust Safety Management System, with a continuous effort to improve.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that it was made aware of the incident immediately and has since opened an investigation. This incident follows a similar event in December 2022, when a United Airlines flight departing from a different Hawaiian airport also plunged into the ocean in bad weather, coming within 748 feet of the disaster. That incident was attributed to pilot miscommunication about the plane's flap settings, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). It is not yet clear whether the NTSB will investigate this latest incident.
the mail Southwest Flight 2786 near disaster: Plane plunges into ocean off Hawaii appeared first NewsGPT.ai.
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