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BY VASANTHA
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Aviation experts speculate that the United Airlines pilots may have forgotten to program the aircraft's autopilot shortly before the plane nosedived after taking off in Hawaii. They have been retrained, officials said.
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Shortly after taking off from Maui International Airport bound for San Francisco on Dec. 18, a Boeing 777 plunged for about 10 seconds and was 775 feet from hitting the Pacific Ocean.
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Following a joint investigation with the FAA and ALPA (Airline Pilots Association), United provided additional training to the pilots. According to United rep Josh Freed, safety remains a top priority.
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Prior to the pilots regaining control, the plane had reached an altitude of about 2,200 feet before plummeting 1,400 feet a minute into the flight.
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Flight experts suggest that the pilots forgot to program the plane's autopilot, which may have caused the terrifying plunge. Rainy weather may lead pilots to use autopilot, aviation consultant Kit Derby told The Daily Mail.
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“So one of the things that pilots do is set an altitude, which is a target for the autopilot. If that altitude was set lower [then the current altitude] then the autopilot would descend,” Derby said. Once pilots receive clearance for takeoff, they typically set the autopilot to the correct altitude, he said.
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