‘UNEXPLAINED’

United Flight Plummeted in Terrifying 45-Second Dive: Report

“The climb produced forces of nearly 2.7 times the force of gravity on the aircraft and its occupants.”

A United Airlines flight plummeted from the air and came as close as 775 feet above the Pacific Ocean in a terrifying, previously unreported incident on December 18. United Airlines Flight UA1722 dived in an “unexplained” descent at nearly 8,600 feet per minute shortly after takeoff, The Air Current reports, and lasted approximately 45 seconds before it recovered. The flight was bound for San Francisco and had taken off from Kahului Airport in Maui at 2:29 p.m. without fuss, despite flying in stormy weather. Analyzing available data, The Air Current said the flight reached 2,200 feet before suddenly diving. The flight was “in between radio calls with air traffic controllers in Maui” throughout the 45-second ordeal. “The climb produced forces of nearly 2.7 times the force of gravity on the aircraft and its occupants,” the report said. Despite the incident, the flight landed in San Francisco after climbing 33,000 feet and departed on its next flight to Chicago just over two hours later. A spokesperson for United confirmed the incident and that a formal internal safety report was filed upon landing. The craft was also inspected before its next flight. The result led to the pilots of the plane receiving additional training.