The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has attributed a December 2022 United Airlines flight's sharp altitude loss and recovery to a failure by the crew. The Boeing 777 jet's descent occurred about a minute after takeoff from Kahului, Hawaii, in heavy rain, dropping from 2,100 feet to around 748 feet over the water.
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The NTSB identified "the crew's failure to manage the aircraft's vertical flight path, airspeed, and pitch attitude after a miscommunication regarding the captain's desired flap setting during initial climb." United Flight 1722, carrying 271 passengers and 10 crew members, was en route to San Francisco and landed safely after the captain regained altitude.
Both pilots recalled hearing initial warnings from the ground proximity warning system (GPWS), according to the NTSB. The first officer remembered repeatedly announcing "Pull up" as the GPWS alerted. As the captain performed the recovery, the GPWS warned again as the descent began to reverse. The NTSB noted that the reversal occurred about 748 feet above the water. The remainder of the flight was uneventful after the plane began climbing again, the NTSB said.
United remarked, "The safety of our crew and customers is our top priority, which is why we're utilizing the lessons learned from this flight to enhance the training of all United pilots." The airline added that its "pilots voluntarily reported this event, and United fully cooperated with the independent investigation to improve the entire industry's safety." United reportedly distributed an "awareness campaign about flight path management at their training center," according to the NTSB. Boeing declined to comment. Since the NTSB was unaware of the occurrence for two months, there were no records from the cockpit voice or flight data recorder from the flight.