50 injured on Boeing 787 as “strong shake” reportedly sent heads into ceiling

Enlarge / A LATAM Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner taxiing at Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in Chile on March 20, 2019. (credit: Getty Images | SOPA Images )

About 50 people were injured on a LATAM Airlines flight today in which a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner suffered a technical problem that caused a “strong shake,” reportedly causing some passengers’ heads to hit the ceiling.

The plane flying from Australia to New Zealand “experienced a strong shake during flight, the cause of which is currently under investigation,” LATAM said on its website today. LATAM, a Chilean airline, was also quoted in news reports as saying the plane suffered “a technical event during the flight which caused a strong movement.”

The Boeing plane, carrying 263 passengers and nine flight and cabin crew members, landed at Auckland Airport as scheduled. New Zealand ambulance service Hato Hone St. John published a statement saying that its “ambulance crews assessed and treated approximately 50 patients, with one patient in a serious condition and the remainder in a moderate to minor condition.” Twelve patients were taken to hospitals, the statement said.