A flight attendant accidentally pressed a button in the pilot's seat and almost caused a plane crash

At least 50 passengers were injured during the incident. They were thrown around the cabin and were injured.

A serious incident that almost ended in a plane crash occurred on March 11 on board a Chilean Latam Airlines plane. The plane was heading from Sydney to Auckland, New Zealand. About halfway through the flight, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner nosedived sharply and began to fall. Passengers said they were "thrown out of their seats, flying down the aisles and hitting the top of the plane." As a result, 50 people received injuries of varying severity. They required hospitalization.

Latam Airlines initially reported that the unpleasant incident occurred due to technical problems. And it’s easy to believe this against the backdrop of the latest news about Boeings falling apart on the fly and the disappointing results of testing the quality of aircraft assembly by the US Federal Aviation Administration. However, the American publication The Wall Street Journal writes, citing sources in the airline industry, that this time the human factor was to blame.

According to the publication, the flight attendant accidentally touched the switch on the pilot's seat while serving food. As a result, the captain of the aircraft was pushed into the control panel, where he hit a lever, which caused the nose of the plane to drop down. How this happened is also not yet entirely clear - the switch is protected by a plastic cover and is not intended for use when someone is in the pilot's seat.

It is noted that the aircraft commander reacted quite quickly and restored the plane’s position, but people were nevertheless injured. It is still unknown whether they will file a class action lawsuit against the airline.