14 February 2023 , 09:15
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A United Airlines plane plunged 9,000ft per minute towards the Pacific Ocean after taking off in a treacherous storm.
The United Airlines Flight 1722 took off from Kahului Airport in Maui, Hawaii on December 18 and was heading to San Francisco, US but dropped just 71 seconds into the flight, according to data from Flightradar24.
The flight tracking website revealed the plane took off at 2.49pm local time and reached an altitude of 2,200ft before taking a scary nose dive and dropped to just 77ft over the Pacific Ocean.
According to data from the plane, the aircraft dipped nearly 8,600ft per minute, which left passengers onboard terrified.
Fortunately, the flight was able to reach an altitude of 2,350ft in less than a minute shortly after the horrifying plunge.
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The plane took off in stormy conditions (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)The plane had taken off into stormy conditions just as Hawaii had been experiencing thunderstorms across the region.
The area was under a weather warning which included flash floods, high surf and gales, according to the National Weather Service office in Honolulu.
The flight managed to reach its destination and arrived in San Francisco at 9:03 p.m. local time.
After landing at the airport pilots filed “the appropriate safety report”, according to United Airlines.
As a result of the scary experience United Airlines contacted the Federal Aviation Administration and the Air Line Pilots Association who put the pilots on additional training safety.
Fortunately, the plane landed safely at its destination (Getty Images)The airline said: "Safety remains our highest priority.”
The two pilots involved in the incident had nearly 25,000 hours of flying experience between them, according to United Airlines.
They both co-operated with the investigation and their training programme is still ongoing.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the pilots reported the incident as part of a voluntary safety reporting program.
They also revealed Air Line Pilots Association reviewed the incident and took “appropriate action.”
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In December last year, a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Phoenix to Hawaii, US, experienced "serve turbulence" and left dozens of passengers with head injuries.
There were at least 36 passengers left injured on the flight, which saw 20 taken to hospital and 11 listed in a serious condition.
Kaylee Reyes revealed her mum had failed to buckle her seatbelt during the flight, which caused her to hit the ceiling as the turbulence came out of "nowhere."
According to eyewitnesses passengers were left bleeding and some people in the back of the plane suffered broken necks.
Hawaiian Airlines said in a statement at the time: "HA35 from PHX to HNL encountered severe turbulence & landed safely in HNL at 10:50 a.m. today.
"Medical care was provided to several guests & crew members at the airport for minor injuries while some were swiftly transported to local hospitals for further care."