The Transport Accident Investigation Commission of New Zealand said on Tuesday that it was taking control of a LATAM Airlines (LTM.SN) flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder.
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The aircraft, carrying 263 passengers and 9 staff members, plummeted suddenly in midair on Monday, according to the airline and passengers on the Sydney-Auckland route.
Brian Adam Jokat, a Canadian citizen traveling in the UK, stated on Tuesday, “My neighbor who was in the seat two over from me, there was a gap in between us, as soon as I looked and he was on the ceiling and I thought I was dreaming.”
Jokat said that other passengers had struck the airplane ceiling, which was damaged in photos he took following the incident.
Chilean authorities said they had launched an investigation into the flight, and it was helping with their inquiries, according to the accident investigator from New Zealand.
According to a TAIC representative, the Direccion General de Aeronautica Civil (DGAC), Chile’s accident investigation body, was responsible for initiating an investigation because the incident happened in international airspace.
LATAM is headquartered in Chile, and the plane was supposed to make a stop in Auckland before continuing on to Santiago.
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The New Zealand agency stated, “TAIC is in the process of gathering evidence relevant to the inquiry, including seizing the cockpit voice and flight data recorders,” referring to the dreaded “black boxes” that will reveal more details about the trajectory of the aircraft and the communications between the pilots.
In a statement, DGAC stated that TAIC was assisting it with the probe.
When asked if it had delivered the black boxes to TAIC, LATAM did not immediately react. The airline had earlier on Tuesday stated that it would support any inquiry into the “strong shake” that occurred during the flight by the appropriate authorities.
There is yet no explanation for the reason behind the flight’s apparent abrupt shift in direction. According to safety experts, a variety of circumstances that require in-depth investigation are responsible for the majority of airline accidents.
The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand stated in a statement that it will contribute to the probe if needed.
Since voice recorder data from the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet that lost a panel mid-flight in January was discovered to have been altered, there has been a resurgence of discussion on the duration of cockpit recordings in the aviation industry.
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Alasdair Pal reported from Sydney, and Jamie Freed handled the editing.
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