With the contribution of Chilean experts, investigations into the accident on the Latam plane begin: they will study the black boxes

92

Investigations into the accident during a Latam flight begin: Chilean experts will travel to Auckland and local authorities will study the black boxes

The General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics of Chile (DGAC) confirmed this Tuesday that experts from its portfolio will lead the investigation into the incident that caused strong turbulence during a LATAM airline flight this Monday, when it was covering the Sydney-Auckland section. To do this, a team of professionals from the Operations and Airworthiness area will travel to the New Zealand city to begin the work.

“It has been coordinated with the New Zealand Transport Accident Investigation Commission that the respective investigation will be carried out by the Chilean Aeronautical Authority,” reads a note released by the DGAC in which it explains that the decision is based on the fact that the incident occurred in international airspace but on a ship with Chilean registration.

In any case, the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) of New Zealand had earlier reported that it will confiscate the famous “black boxes”, that is, the files of cockpit voice recordings and flight data that provide valuable information about the trajectory of the aircraft and the communications between the pilots, before, during and after the event in question.

“TAIC is in the process of gathering relevant evidence for the investigation, including the seizure of voice recorders and flight data from the cockpit,” they commented, while the local Civil Aviation Authority added that a formal case has already been initiated into the case and will collaborate in the investigations in any way necessary.

For its part, LATAM Airlines also indicated that it will help clarify the circumstances that led to this “strong movement” during the flight, which left -at least- 50 of the 272 passengers injured after experiencing a sudden descent in the air.

At the moment, the authorities who took the case have not been able to find an explanation for the sudden change that the aircraft, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, suffered.

According to passengers on board the service, whose final destination was the Chilean capital, the plane quickly lost altitude while flying over the Tasman Sea and propelled all the people who were not wearing their seat belts to the roof.

“When I woke up, the person who was two seats away from me, with a free space between them, was on the roof and I thought, ‘I’m dreaming.’ It wasn’t one of those cases where you hit turbulence and you fall a couple of times… we just fell,” said Brian Adam Jokat, a Canadian citizen traveling to Santiago.

“People were flying from one side to the other and everything was very scary. There was blood on the roof, people were flying and breaking the roof of the plane,” added Valentina, another passenger.

As a result of these sudden movements, the New Zealand rescue services were alerted and mobilized along with more than a dozen ambulances and medical vehicles to the area to treat those affected. Two people had to be taken to a nearby hospital while the rest of the injured suffered injuries to the neck, head, and broken bones.