SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – A United Airlines flight carrying passengers from Maui to San Francisco is under investigation after the plane plunged out of the air, getting within 800 feet from the ocean.
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In December, flight A1722 suddenly took a steep nosedive after taking off from Maui, making a 20 second descent at 8,600 feet per minute. Although no one was injured, the National Transportation Safety Board is now investigating what happened.
"This is obviously some sort of a human factor involved or you could phrase it as a pilot error," said Michael McCormic, assistant professor of aviation science at Embry-Riddle University and a former F.A.A. control tower operator.
McCormic told KCBS Radio that the error was human rather than equipment. "Based upon the reporting that the pilots did, based upon the actions of the safety investigators afterwards and the fact that the flight crew received additional training, it was not an equipment problem, it was not an equipment failure. It was a human failure," he explained.
According to McCormic, the pilot may have physically done something that they shouldn't have done to cause the drop, calling the incident "seconds away from becoming a disaster."
The NTSB investigation preliminary report is expected in two to three weeks.
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