FAA Investigates After Southwest MAX Dives To 400 Feet Off Hawaii

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an April incident involving a Southwest Airlines 737 MAX 8 that descended rapidly from 1,000 feet and came within about 400 feet of the ocean surface off the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

Bloomberg was the first to report on the incident after obtaining an internal memo from Southwest to its pilots last week. According to the source, the event occurred April 11 during a go-around due to bad weather on a flight from Honolulu International Airport to Lihue Airport in Kauai. The memo revealed that despite inclement weather forecasts, the captain elected to let the “newer” first officer fly the short leg to Lihue. According to the memo, during the go-around, the first officer "inadvertently" pushed forward on the control column, causing the aircraft to rapidly descend at a rate of more than 4,000 feet per minute. The aircraft came within 400 feet of the ocean before the crew pulled up. During the recovery, the aircraft climbed at 8,500 feet per minute.

Southwest’s memo stressed the importance of better communication between crew and committed to reviewing industry and internal data to determine whether updates to protocols and training would be necessary.

The airline released a statement stressing that the event was addressed appropriately with the pilots involved receiving additional training. According to the Bloomberg report, the incident previously went unreported, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was unaware of it.