A United Airlines flight plunged 275 meters into the Pacific Ocean in December after suffering a sudden and prolonged dive minutes after takeoff, it was reported this week.
United Airlines Flight UA 1722 departed Kahului Airport in Maui, Hawaii, bound for San Francisco on December 18. The plane climbed to an altitude of 2,200 feet before crashing 71 seconds after takeoff.
Flight data provided by Flight Radar shows that the Boeing 777 descended at speeds of nearly 8,600 feet per minute for nearly 20 seconds before returning to just under 775 feet above the Pacific Ocean.
The flight then resumed its climb and headed for San Francisco, where it landed 27 minutes early. The accident went largely unnoticed until it was first reported on Sunday by The Air Current, an aviation industry blog.
Maui at that time was cope with bad weather which included high winds, hail and flash flood warnings.
A United Airlines spokesperson confirmed the crash to HuffPost and emphasized that the pilots, who have about 25,000 hours of flight experience, were fully cooperating with the crash investigation.
“After landing at SFO, the pilots submitted the appropriate safety report,” the company said in an emailed statement. “United then coordinated closely with the FAA and ALPA in an investigation that ultimately resulted in the pilots receiving additional training. Safety remains our top priority.”
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