FAA investigating after Southwest plane plunged within 400 feet of ocean near Hawaii
An investigation is underway after a Southwest Airlines flight plunged to 400 feet above the Pacific Ocean near a Hawaiian island this spring, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed Monday.
The frightening incident took place the morning of April 11 on Southwest Flight 2786, tracking data obtained by USA TODAY shows.
The plane briefly dropped at "an abnormally high rate of more than 4,000 feet per minute" before pilots pulled up to avoid crashing into the water, according to a memo Southwest distributed to pilots obtained by Bloomberg, who first reported the news Friday.
The flight crew performed a "roller coaster maneuver" the outlet reported, to avoid slamming into the ocean.
"We are investigating this incident," the FAA released in a statement to USA TODAY.
The FAA did not release additional details.
Southwest Flight 2786
According to the online site Flight Aware, which tracks flight paths, the Southwest flight, an inter-island hop, departed from the at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport at 6:45 p.m. bound for the Lihue Airport, just northwest of Honolulu.
Not long after take off, tracking data shows, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 turned around and returned to the same airport, landing at 8:27 p.m.
According to the internal memo Southwest sent to pilots last week, the pilots decided to abort landing there due to "bad weather," Bloomberg reported.
The memo indicated a “newer” first officer was flying at the time and inadvertently pushed forward on the control column, the outlet wrote.
No injuries were reported.
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Southwest: 'The event was addressed'
Southwest acknowledge the incident to USA TODAY but would not provide additional details about the issue about the "internal memo."
"Nothing is more important to Southwest than Safety," the airline released in a statement early Monday. "Through our robust Safety Management System, the event was addressed appropriately as we always strive for continuous improvement."
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Southwest Flight 2786 in Hawaii: FAA investigating after plunge report
