Button pressed unintentionally by stewardess behind vertical fall of Boeing 787 Latam
An airline stewardess inadvertently pressed the switch on the pilot's seat while she was serving a meal in the cabin
2' min read
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The sudden loss of altitude that triggered terror aboard Latam Airlines' Boeing 787 Dreamliner flying from Sydney to Auckland on Monday was caused by a button inadvertently pressed by a flight attendant. It sounds unbelievable, but this is what the Wall Street Journal reconstructed based on American sources.
The cockpit incident
.An airline stewardess unintentionally pressed the switch on the pilot's seat while she was serving a meal in the cabin, triggering a motorised function that pushed the seat and pilot against the aircraft's stick and caused the fuselage head of the 787 Dreamliner to abruptly lower. The switch, located at the back of the seat, is usually protected and should not be used when the pilot is seated. This device is present in 375 aircraft.
Why the seats move
.The Dreamliner's cockpit seats are designed to move, which allows pilots to operate the controls more easily in such tight quarters. Pilots have reported that normally the powered seats move slowly.
"Think about the seats in your car: if they suddenly started moving on their own because of a stuck switch, what would you do?" explained John Cox, an aviation safety consultant, to the Wall Street Journal. 'I've never heard of such a case before,' he added, 'But if Boeing can prove that the switch got stuck, then it's possible that the seat moved all the way forward.
Boeing's note
Boeing on Thursday sent a memo to operators of 787 jets, recommending that they inspect cockpit seats for loose covers and instructing them how to turn off the pilot's seat motor power if necessary. Boeing said it is considering updating the flight crew manuals.
