United plane recovers from dive after Maui takeoff
A United Airlines Boeing 777 taking off from Maui in December went into a steep dive shortly after takeoff, Flightradar24 data shows.
United Flight 1722 took off from Maui at 2:49 p.m. en route to San Francisco. After 71 seconds, the aircraft had climbed to an altitude of 2,200 feet. It then dove sharply for 18 seconds, before leveling out at 775 feet and continuing safely on to the U.S. mainland.
Over those 18 seconds, the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft lost 1,425 feet of altitude, an average of 79 feet per second.
The incident was first reported by The Air Current on Feb. 12.
In a statement, the FAA said that United reported the incident as part of a voluntary safety reporting program.
“The agency reviewed the incident and took appropriate action,” the FAA said.
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United told The Air Current that upon landing, the pilots filed an internal safety report and the aircraft was inspected before its next flight. The carrier also told the Air Current that after an investigation, the pilots on the flight were sent for additional training.
The incident took place on the same day that 20 people were injured on a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Phoenix after it encountered heavy turbulence shortly before landing in Honolulu.
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