A United Airlines airplane taxis at Newark International Airport in New Jersey on Jan. 11.

Kena Betancur/AFP through Getty Images

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Kena Betancur/AFP through Getty Images

A United Airlines airplane taxis at Newark International Airport in New Jersey on Jan. 11.

Kena Betancur/AFP through Getty Images

A United Airlines flight that took off from the Hawaiian island of Maui late final 12 months made a steep dive shortly after takeoff and got here inside 800 ft of the Pacific Ocean earlier than regaining altitude.

The harrowing incident was first reported on Sunday by The Air Current, an aviation information website.

On Dec. 18, United Airlines flight 1722 left Kahului Airport certain for San Francisco and reached 2,200 ft earlier than experiencing a precipitous descent that introduced the plane simply 775 ft above water, the web site reported.

The airplane was in a position to regain altitude rapidly and finally accomplished its journey to California. The incident lasted about 45 seconds.

“There were a number of screams on the plane,” passenger Rod Williams II told CBS News. “Everybody knew that something was out of the ordinary, or at least that this was not normal.”

United Airlines spokesman Josh Freed stated in an e mail to NPR that the pilots filed a security report after touchdown in San Francisco.

The two pilots, who collectively have roughly 25,000 hours of flying expertise, at the moment are receiving extra coaching following an investigation involving the airline, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Air Line Pilots Association, a pilots’ union. Pilots usually need a minimum of 1,500 flight hours to be licensed as first officers at industrial airways.

United stated there have been no accidents associated to the incident. “Safety remains our highest priority,” Freed stated.

It’s unclear what brought on the drop. United instructed The Air Current that the incident wasn’t associated to any drawback with the airplane. The publication reported that there have been clouds and heavy rain in Maui that day.

In a press release, the FAA confirmed that the United Airlines flight crew voluntarily reported the incident to the company. The FAA stated it reviewed the incident and took “appropriate action” however gave no extra particulars.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates civil aviation accidents, stated it was gathering details about the incident however had not initiated an investigation.