Several passengers and crew members were injured when a United Airlines Boeing 787-8 experienced “unexpected aircraft movement” on January 24, forcing the jet to return to Lagos, Nigeria.
The Washington DC-bound wide-body aircraft is operating as flight UA613, according to accounts posted on social media.
A shared image shows the cabin of the aircraft littered with splatters of what appears to be liquid from garbage.
In response to FlightGlobal's request for comment, United attributed the incident, which had 245 passengers and 11 crew members on board, to an unspecified “technical issue.”
In particular, flight tracking platform FlightAware shows a “gap in available data” of approximately 20 minutes during altitude loss.
This episode recalls the Latam Airlines 787-9, which suddenly experienced an “unintentional loss of altitude” early last year. Chilean investigators determined that in that case, the in-flight disturbance was caused by an involuntary forward shift of the captain's seat.
United says 787 people landed safely in Lagos, and four passengers and two flight attendants were taken to hospital with minor injuries and released.
“We are working with aviation authorities in the United States and Nigeria to understand the cause.”
