LATAM Boeing 767 Drops 23,000 Feet As Oxygen Masks Deploy In Midair Emergency

Passengers onboard a recent LATAM flight from Lima to Sao Paulo experienced a sudden drop in altitude when the Boeing 767-300 unexpectedly descended 23,000 feet due to the crew initiating an emergency descent. This was due to a sudden loss of cabin pressure and resulted in the oxygen masks deploying for travelers to put on.

The aircraft, which was operating as LATAM flight 2424, is a nonstop service from Lima Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM) to São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governor André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU), and the incident occurred on Friday, October 16.

Sudden Loss Of Cabin Pressure Experienced On LATAM Flight Southeast Of Lima

Analyzing data from Simple Flying's Live Flight Tracker, LA2424 had departed from Lima on Friday at 9:25 AM, just five minutes behind its scheduled departure time of 9:20 AM. The aircraft departed from Lima in a southeasterly direction and prepared for the nearly five-hour journey to Brazil's largest city, Sao Paulo.

Approximately 300 nautical miles (555 km) southeast of Lima, the aircraft experienced an unexpected sudden drop in cabin pressure, resulting in the flight crew needing to take evasive action for the safety and well-being of passengers and other crew onboard. This resulted in the plane dropping approximately 23,000 feet (7,010 m) above the southern Peruvian city of Chaluanca and saw the oxygen masks deploy from the aircraft ceiling.

The aircraft then made an abrupt turn west, and the flight squawked 7700, which is the general emergency transponder code, and returned to Lima to be met by emergency services and further investigation.

Additional Context & Relevant Insights

Crew onboard the LATAM widebody initiated the turnaround and brought the aircraft down to 10,000 feet (3,048 m) for the remainder of the journey, before the plane safely landed back at Lima onto runway 16R at 11:31 AM local time. All passengers and crew were unharmed, and once at the gate, they were able to disembark and were rebooked onto a replacement aircraft.

The jet at the centre of the incident bears registration CC-CWU, and remained on the apron at Lima at the time of writing. A replacement jet was already in Lima for the affected passengers, and CC-CWF was able to support the affected passengers, departing at 3:51 PM and arriving in Sao Paulo at 10:33 PM, six hours and 18 minutes after the initial scheduled arrival time.

LATAM confirmed that the aircraft had a 'technical issue'; however, the full cause of the incident still remains unclear, and details have not been made public.

LATAM Boeing 767-300 Details: CC-CVW

LATAM Chile is the registered operator of the affected 767-300, with CC-CWV detailed by ch-aviation as a nearly 20-year-old widebody aircraft. The jet first took flight in May 2007 for its first recorded test flight, before subsequently being delivered to LAN Airlines on May 23, 2007 through a lease agreement with Pochard Leasing. Pochard Leasing is an aircraft leasing entity that primarily leases aircraft to LATAM Airlines.

The jet was ultimately transferred to LATAM Chile on May 5, 2016, and operates as one of nine 767-300s in the airline's network. For passengers onboard, the airplane is equipped with a total of 231 seats, in a two-class configuration consisting of 20 in Business Class and the remaining 211 in Economy. Full aircraft details below:

The replacement aircraft that operated at LA2424 for the stranded passengers in Lima on Saturday, CC-CWF, is also another 20-year-old 767 for LATAM, having followed a similar history, having first operated for LAN before transferring to LATAM Chile. This jet is configured with 30 seats in the Business Class cabin and 191 in Economy.

While details of the total number of passengers onboard remain unclear at this time, should the plane have been operating at near or full capacity, it is likely several passengers would have been upgraded to the business class cabin.