Featured Image Credit: X/@fl360aero
Topics: Travel, Australia, World News, Health
Poppy Bilderbeck
Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions, images and video which some readers may find distressing.
At least 50 people have been injured after a plane experienced 'strong movement' mid-flight.
Earlier today (March 11), LATAM Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner flight - LA800 - took off from Sydney, Australia headed for Auckland, New Zealand and later Santiago, Chile.
On its way to Auckland - around two hours into its three hour trip - the plane experienced 'a strong movement' which resulted in at least 50 people getting hurt.
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Passenger Brian Joket told local news outlet Stuff the plane 'just dropped out of the sky' and he turned around to find the person who'd been seated next to him with his back 'on the ceiling'.
He recalled: "He's up in the air and then he drops down and hits his head on the armrest. The whole plane is screaming.
"The plane then started taking a nose dive and I was just thinking, 'OK this is it, we're done'."
Another passenger onboard the flight, Lucas Ellwood, described the experience as going through 'the worst turbulence you could think of'.
He told Good Morning America: "There were people whimpering all over, there were people injured all over."
According to Joket, once the plane had landed, the pilot came out to see passengers, explaining his 'gauges just blanked out' and he 'lost all [...] ability to fly the plane'.
A spokesperson for LATAM Airlines Group did not confirm what caused the incident, but said in a statement to Stuff: "As a result of the incident, some passengers and cabin crew were affected. They received immediate assistance and were evaluated or treated by medical staff at the airport as needed.
"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 the plane 'landed at Auckland Airport as scheduled' and Hato Hone St John Ambulance said in a statement on its website it was 'notified at 3.58pm' about the incident on the plane, responding with '14 units including seven ambulances, two operations managers, two Major Incident Support Team vehicles, one Command Unit, and two rapid response vehicles'.
Hato Hone St John Area Operations Manager Anna Pownall told UNILAD: "Hato Hone St John can confirm it has responded to an incident at Auckland International Airport involving an in-bound aircraft.
"We were notified at 3.58pm on Monday 11 March and responded with 14 units including seven ambulances, two operations managers, two Major Incident Support Team vehicles, one Command Unit, and two rapid response vehicles.
"Our ambulance crews assessed and treated approximately 50 patients, with one patient in a serious condition and the remainder in a moderate to minor condition.
"A total of twelve patients were transported to hospital - ten were taken to Middlemore Hospital, including one patient in a serious condition, one patient was transported to Auckland City Hospital in a moderate condition, and one patient was taken to Starship Hospital in a moderate condition."
A spokesperson for Boeing told UNILAD: "We are thinking of the passengers and crew from flight LA800, and we commend everyone involved in the response effort. We are in contact with our customer, and Boeing stands ready to support investigation-related activities as requested."
UNILAD has contacted LATAM Airline for comment.