The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed Monday that an investigation is underway into the crash of a Southwest Airlines plane that crashed 400 feet above the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii’s Big Island this spring.
The horrific incident happened on Southwest Airlines Flight 2786 on the morning of April 11, according to tracking data obtained by USA TODAY.
A memo distributed by Southwest to pilots and obtained by Bloomberg, which first reported the news on Friday, said the plane briefly descended at an “excessive speed of more than 4,000 feet per minute” before the pilots climbed to avoid crashing into the water.
The report said the pilots performed a “roller coaster maneuver” to avoid crashing into the ocean.
The FAA released a statement to USA Today saying it is “investigating the incident.”
The FAA did not release additional details.
Southwest Airlines Flight 2786
The inter-island Southwest Airlines flight took off from Daniel K. Inouye International Airport at 6:45 p.m. and headed to Lihue Airport, northwest of Honolulu, according to Flight Aware, an online site that tracks flight routes.
Shortly after takeoff, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 turned around and returned to the same airport, landing at 8:27 p.m., according to tracking data.
According to an internal memo Southwest sent to pilots last week, the pilots decided to abort the landing due to “adverse weather,” Bloomberg reported.
The memo indicates that a “rookie” co-pilot was at the controls at the time and accidentally pushed the control stick forward, news outlets reported.
No injuries were reported.
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Southwest: “This incident has been resolved.”
Southwest confirmed the incident to USA Today but did not provide further details about the issue regarding the “internal memo.”
“Nothing is more important to Southwest Airlines than safety,” the airline said in a statement early Monday. “We are always committed to continuous improvement, and through our robust safety management system, this incident was appropriately handled.”
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter at USA TODAY. Contact her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her at X @nataliealund.
