Feds Open Investigation into United Flight to SFO that Nearly Nose-Dived into the Ocean

Feb. 14—The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate an incident last December in which a United Airlines flight nearly nose-dived into the ocean shortly after taking off from a Maui airport, the agency announced Tuesday afternoon.

The flight plunged to within 775 feet of the ocean shortly after taking off on Dec. 18, according to flight tracker data posted by FlightRadar24.

The data shows that the Boeing 777 took a sudden nosedive about 71 seconds after it left the runway at Kahului Airport on Maui, Hawaii.

Flight UA1722 reached an altitude of about 2,200 feet when it began its rapid descent.

The two pilots were able to regain altitude and the plane continued its six-hour journey across the Pacific to San Francisco International Airport, where it landed without incident. The pilots filed a safety report and cooperated with investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Air Line Pilots Association, United said in a statement. The investigations resulted in the pilots, who have more than 25,000 hours of combined experience, undergoing additional training.

United's statement did not disclose the number of passengers aboard the aircraft.

The NTSB announced the investigation Tuesday afternoon, saying it would release a preliminary report in two to three weeks. Completion of a NTSB investigation can take a year or longer.

Reach Michael Cabanatuan: [email protected]; Twitter: @ctuan

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