[English Translated] The Dynamo – The Doubts Left by the Report on the Latam Plane Incident in New Zealand

Lawyer Peter Carter, who advises passengers on Latam flight LA800, said the preliminary report does not answer questions such as what role maintenance played in the incident.

A series of doubts regarding the preliminary report on the incident that occurred on Latam flight LA800 in New Zealand, which left 50 people affected and 13 hospitalized due to a “sudden descent” of the plane, were revealed by the lawyer advising the passengers, Peter Carter.

The professional referred to the issue after the publication of the preliminary report of the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics of Chile, according to which everything was due to the fact that “the seat on the left side of the cockpit, with the captain in position, began an involuntary forward movement”.

According to the lawyer, the document details that Latam was investigating the history of the controls that operate the aircraft’s cabin seats. He recalled that in 2017 Boeing warned about these controls and did so again after the March 11 incident.

Peter Carter stated that the photos of the pilot’s and first officer’s seats showed a significant difference in the resting position of the covers of these switches.

While the cover on the back of the first officer’s seat is flush with the back of the seat, the cover on the pilot’s seat switch is not,” revealed the lawyer, who maintained that the report does not address the issue.

At the same time, he stated that if this control cover is not completely closed, it opens the possibility that it can be activated if it is inadvertently pressed.

The Doubts That Remain After the Preliminary Report

However, he asserted that while this could explain the “involuntary movement” of the pilot’s seat, there are still several doubts that it does not resolve.

In this regard, Peter Carter raised the main questions that still have no answers:

  • What role did maintenance, components or crew conduct play?
  • How did the seat so violently affect the aircraft’s cruise?
  • What steps were taken to prevent this from happening?

These are all important questions to discover the cause of the accident and we must wait and see,” said the aviation expert lawyer.

He added that together with his law firm “we are monitoring the evolution of the investigation of the Chilean Aeronautical Authority. And we are advising clients in Chile, Brazil, New Zealand, Australia, the United States and Colombia individually,” he explained.

Original source here: https://www.elperiodista.cl/2024/04/firma-legal-australiana-investigara-historial-de-cambio-de-asiento-a-la-luz-del-informe-de-accidente-en-latam/