Air traffic regulators probe close call in Hawaiian aerial incident
Recent near-misses spark renewed attention on the Boeing 737-Max series. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is delving into an event involving a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 that narrowly avoided plunging into the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.
The FAA verified an incident on April 11th, 2021, where a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 nearly touched the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Kauai, skimming just a few hundred meters above the water. The crew skillfully regained control and steered the flight back to Honolulu.
As per media reports and air traffic control transcripts, the pilot was heading from Honolulu to Lihue when they faced unpleasant weather conditions, causing them to abandon their initial landing attempt. Moments later, the plane rapidly lost altitude over the ocean. The transcripts suggest that the crew managed to regain control and safely guide the plane back to Honolulu.
A confidential memo obtained by Bloomberg News and shared with Southwest pilots last week reveals that the plane almost dipped roughly 120 feet near the ocean surface. The plane allegedly lost altitude at a rate of over 1200 meters per minute before the pilots regained control and averted a possible catastrophe. According to the memo, a co-pilot accidentally pushed the control column forward. Luckily, no passengers or crew members suffered injuries during the incident.
The Boeing 737-Max series has faced intense scrutiny ever since two tragic crashes in 2018 and 2019, causing the deaths of 346 people. The crashes were linked to a flawed automated flight control system, leading to the grounding of these aircraft globally. Post thorough investigations, software upgrades, and enhanced pilot training, the FAA gave the green light for the 737 Max to take flight again in November 2020.
