A United Airlines flight plummeted to within 1,000 feet of the Pacific Ocean after takeoff from Hawaii in December.
The Boeing 777-200 made a sudden drop just after a minute after its takeoff from Kahului Airport, according to The Air Current.
United Airlines Flight UA 1722 initially climbed to an altitude of 2,220 feet after the Dec. 18 flight’s takeoff.
However, the plane descended to a potentially dangerous altitude — and fast.
The aircraft descended to just 775 feet above the ocean in less than 30 seconds, according to Flightradar24.
The drop in altitude featured the commercial airliner descending to the Earth at a breakneck pace of 8,600 feet per minute, according to The Air Current.
Absolutely incredible that no one from this flight tweeted about it.
United Airlines has now confirmed that the incident did occur. https://t.co/B1omsPQunL pic.twitter.com/1uocsPVi1L
— Yashar Ali 🐘 یاشار (@yashar) February 13, 2023
However, the airliner quickly recovered, soon rising to 2,350 feet within 45 seconds after the sudden drop.
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The flight ultimately landed in San Francisco without a further safety incident.
It’s not entirely clear why the aircraft descended to the low height after takeoff.
Aircraft crew and air traffic controllers didn’t discuss the sudden drop, according to The Air Current. Air safety protocol would normally entail flight controllers making contact with pilots after such an aviation incident.
Hawaii was subject to stormy weather conditions during the flight incident, according to NBC News.
Six people were injured in an air turbulence incident on board a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Phoenix to Honolulu on the same day.
NTSB issued Friday its preliminary report for the ongoing investigation of the Dec. 18 air turbulence accident on the Hawaiian Airlines flight from Phoenix to Honolulu. https://t.co/X8mYJLSy15
— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) January 13, 2023
United coordinated with the Federal Aviation Administration to investigate the aviation mishap after the incident.
The investigation “ultimately resulted in the pilots receiving additional training,” according to a United Airlines statement provided to NBC.
The flight mishap came just days before Southwest Airlines issued a wide-ranging spree of flight cancellations during the Christmas season, leaving thousands of American travelers stranded at airports.
