A Qatar Airways flight came within seconds from hitting the water as the aircraft experienced a loss in altitude right after takeoff.
On 10th January Qatar Airways Flight QR161 operating from Doha to Copenhagen on Boeing 787-8 took off reaching a peak altitude of 1,850ft when the aircraft suddenly lost altitude at peak reaching 3,000 feet per minute decent rate.
The Boeing 787 dropped to 850ft before the descent was controlled and the aircraft regained altitude again. During the sink, the aircraft exceeded flaps limits as well.
It was reported that the First Officer was hand-flying the aircraft and likely lost situational awareness resulting in a sink which was intervened and controlled by the Captain. The flight continued and safely landed ahead of the scheduled arrival time.
Even though the event occurred in January 2023 it gained public attention just this week. Qatar Airways has said the incident has been immediately reported to authorities and an internal investigation is being carried out.