A United Airlines Boeing 777 went into a steep nosedive and came within 800 feet of the Pacific Ocean shortly after takeoff in Maui, Hawaii in December 2022, before regaining altitude and flying on to its destination without further incident.
The scary episode, which was not previously widely known and escaped commentary on social media, was first reported by aviation blog The Air Current on Sunday.
According to data analyzed by the outlet, the plane had just taken off from the island’s Kahului Airport in stormy weather on the afternoon of Dec. 18, 2022.
The widebody plane, which seats up to 312 passengers, climbed to about 2,200 ft. and into overcast skies when it went into a sharp nosedive and rapidly descended to less than 775 ft., or about 8,600 ft. per minute, above the water off the north coast of Maui.
It was not immediately clear how many passengers and crew were aboard the flight. The plane landed less than five hours later, and 27 minutes early, at San Francisco International Airport.
“After landing at SFO, the pilots filed the appropriate safety report,” United spokesman Josh Freed told PEOPLE. “United then closely coordinated with the FAA and ALPA (Air Line Pilots Association) on an investigation that ultimately resulted in the pilots receiving additional training.”
The pilots of the plane had about 25,000 combined hours of flying time, Freed said.
The event lasted less than one minute, according to flight tracking data, per The Air Current.
It was not immediately clear if air traffic controllers noticed the dive and subsequent recovery climb, but ATC recordings made no mention of the terrifying near-tragedy.
Passenger Rod Williams II, who was traveling with his wife and two young children, recounted the terrifying moments to CNN.
“It felt like you were climbing to the top of a roller coaster. It was at that point,” Williams said about the initial climb out of Kahului, before the plane suddenly dropped. “There were a number of screams on the plane. Everybody knew that something was out of the ordinary, or at least that this was not normal.”
He added, “When the plane started to nosedive, multiple screams are being let out, at that point. You’re trying your best to maintain your composure – there’s obviously kids on the flight — nobody really knows what’s going on, but at the same time, you’re concerned. You don’t know if this is an issue, but it was certainly out of the ordinary.”
About 10 minutes after the nosedive, Williams said a crew member made an announcement.
“Someone from the cockpit got on the intercom and said, ‘Alright, folks, you probably felt a couple G’s on that one, but everything’s gonna be okay. We’re gonna be alright,’ ” Williams said.
The incident came on the same day and just hours after another widely reported incident occurred near Hawaii.
A Hawaiian Airlines Airbus 330, carrying 278 passengers, eight flight attendants and two pilots, was at an altitude of about 36,000 feet when it encountered severe turbulence, hitting a pocket of unstable air, and sending unbuckled passengers and unsecured objects airborne, according to multiple reports.
Thirty-six passengers were injured, including 11 seriously on the flight, which safely landed about 30 minutes later in Honolulu.