A United Airlines Boeing 777-200, registered as N212UA, lost more than 1,000 feet of altitude after taking off from Kahului Airport (OGG), Kahului, Hawaii, the United States (US).
The incident occurred on December 18, 2022, when the aircraft was departing OGG towards its scheduled destination, San Francisco International Airport (SFO). After the United Airlines Boeing 777 left the Hawaiian airport, the aircraft descended steeply, moving from 2,200 feet (670.5 meters) of altitude to 775 ft (236.2 m) in no more than a minute. Its peak vertical speed was -8,192 feet per minute (FPM), according to flightradar24.com data.
The Air Current was the first to report the incident on February 12, 2023.
Following the steep descent, the aircraft continued to climb and eventually landed at SFO just over four hours later. No injuries were reported.
A Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330 experienced severe turbulence on the same day. 36 people were hurt during the incident, including 11 with serious injuries.
The A330 was flying from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) to Honolulu’s Inouye International Airport (HNL), located 87 nautical miles (100 miles, 161 kilometers) north of OGG.
Similarities to Qatar Airways incident
The United Airlines incident in Hawaii is similar to an event involving a Qatar Airways Boeing 787-8, which also lost around 1,000 feet of altitude shortly after take-off.
The Qatar Airways aircraft was operating flight QR161 between Hamad International Airport (DOH), Doha, Qatar, and Copenhagen Airport (CPH), Denmark on January 10, 2023. Two minutes after taking off, the Boeing 787 suddenly descended from an altitude of 1,825 ft (556.2 m) to 850 ft (259 m).
No injuries were reported onboard the aircraft and the 787 landed safely at CPH several hours later.
