Dozens Injured After In-Flight 'Technical Event' Sends Plane Plummeting

At least 50 people were injured and about a dozen passengers hospitalized after a LATAM Airlines flight from Sydney, Australia to Auckland, New Zealand experienced a "technical event" that resulted in a "sudden movement," causing the plane to momentarily plummet from the sky.

The incident occurred about two hours into the three-hour flight, and unfortunately, most passengers weren't wearing their seatbelts at the time. Witnesses say that people were violently thrown to the ceiling of the aircraft, which was reportedly splattered with blood. One passenger described the chaos to the CNN affiliate RNZ as a "mid-air drop." "People flew through the cabin," said the passenger, identified only as Jacinto. "People got pretty injured."

Another passenger, Brian Jokat, told the New Zealand news outlet Stuff that "all of a sudden the plane just dropped out of the sky." Jokat said he was awakened to see his seatmate on the ceiling.

"His back is on the ceiling and he’s up in the air and then he drops down and hits his head on the armrest. The whole plane is screaming," he recalled. "The plane then started taking a nose dive and I was just thinking 'OK this is it, we’re done.'"

"The ceiling’s broken from people’s heads and bodies hitting it," he added. "Basically neck braces were being put on people, guys' heads were cut and they were bleeding. It was just crazy."

Jokat said that unlike normal turbulence, there was no warning from the pilot or crew to strap on seatbelts and that the incident came "whack out of nowhere." Even the pilot was apparently left in shock. When Jokat saw him after the flight, he said that his gauges "just blanked out" and he lost all of his ability to fly the plane.

When the plane eventually landed at Auckland International Airport, there were 14 units, including seven ambulances, waiting to treat injured passengers and transport them to the hospital. However, the airline has not released additional information or elaborated on the "technical event" that caused the disturbance.

"The plane landed at Auckland Airport as scheduled. As a result of the incident, some passengers and cabin crew were affected. They received immediate assistance and were evaluated or treated by medical staff at the airport as needed,” a LATAM Airlines spokesperson told the New Zealand Herald.

"LATAM regrets the inconvenience and injury this situation may have caused its passengers, and reiterates its commitment to safety as a priority within the framework of its operational standards," the spokesperson added.