A United Airlines passenger jet came close to plunging into the ocean after a scary dip being revealed by the Air Current. The incident, not previously reported, took place on Dec. 18 when United Airlines Flight 1722 took off from Maui en route to San Francisco. The Boeing 777 jet rose about 2,200 feet upon takeoff before going into a steep dive that took it roughly 775 feet from the ocean. The pilots then righted the plane, which continued on without further incident to its destination. All of that unfolded in about 45 seconds, with the flight path depicted here by Flightradar24.
No injuries were reported, and the cause of the dive isn't clear. However, weather might have been a factor. The jet took off in the afternoon during a Pacific storm, and another flight that same day also near Hawaii experienced severe turbulence that injured several passengers. A United spokesperson confirmed the dive and said the pilots filed reports internally and with the Federal Aviation Administration. The pilots then received "additional training" after an investigation, said the spokesperson. The FAA said it investigated and "took appropriate action" but didn't elaborate.
A blog post at One Mile at a Time says this is only the latest in "a shocking number of near miss incidents" of late. The most surprising aspect, it adds, is that word of the dive hadn't previously surfaced on social media from the passengers on board. "One has to wonder if (for whatever reason) it just didn't feel that bad in the cabin, if everything just happened so quickly, or what?" the post notes. No mention of the incident came up in recordings between the pilots and air traffic controllers. The plane was inspected upon arrival in San Francisco and given the all-clear to fly again a few hours later to Chicago. (Read more United Airlines stories.)
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