The plane – a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner – was making a stopover in Auckland before heading to its final destination in Santiago, Chile. Local media reports And this The tracking website is FlightAware. LATAM said the flight landed at Auckland International Airport “as scheduled” at 4:26pm local time.
A Boeing spokeswoman said, “We are working to gather more information about the aircraft and will provide any support our customer needs.”
Haddo Hone St John Ambulance Service said in a statement that its crews responded to an incident involving an inbound flight at Auckland International Airport on Monday afternoon local time. After seven ambulances and other vehicles and crews arrived at the scene, they “assessed and treated approximately 50 patients,” one in serious condition and the rest in moderate to minor condition, it said.
A passenger on board said Radio New Zealand reported that the flight was smooth for about two-thirds of the three hours En route to New Zealand, the plane “just went down.”
Passenger Brian Jocutt told the outlet that several passengers were thrown up to the ceiling of the plane, parts of the cabin were broken on impact, and others injured themselves when they hit the ground.
“Then people started screaming. I felt the plane nose down — it felt like it was at the top of a roller coaster, and then it flattened out again,” Jokat said. The entire incident lasted only “split seconds”.
Another passenger, Priscilla Waller-Supridsky, said The New Zealand Herald said the plane lost altitude and “several passengers and crew members were thrown onto the roof of the aircraft”. “The crew was injured and could not help,” he told the injured passengers.
LATAM said in its statement that it planned a new flight for Tuesday, departing from Auckland at 8pm local time to Santiago. The airline said it was “providing food and accommodation services to affected passengers”.
Twelve patients were taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries, Haddo Hohn St. John said. Latham, in its statement, said seven passengers and three crew members were “sent to hospital for medical checks, and no serious injuries were reported”.
