As of February 21, 2024 I could find no credible, published reports of a LATAM Boeing 787 suffering a turbulence upset that produced injuries on arrival in Auckland. That said, the aviation community should treat the idea of a large widebody upset as realistic and plan accordingly. The mechanics of how injuries happen on modern airliners have not changed. They are blunt and operational: people out of their seats, service carts unsecured, cabin stowage not restrained, and unexpected vertical accelerations give those people a path to the ceiling or to hard surfaces.
Here are the facts operators and crews already know and need to act on. Turbulence and in flight upsets remain one of the leading causes of nonfatal injury to passengers and crew. A National Transportation Safety Board summary and recent coverage of turbulence events underscore that many serious turbulence injuries occur when occupants are not belted and when cabin service is underway. Flight attendants account for the bulk of serious injuries because they are mobile in the cabin at the time of sudden events.
There is solid precedent for fast, thorough investigations after an in flight upset. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation into a 2008 Airbus A330 in flight upset near Learmonth documented how a combination of a faulty sensor and a design limitation led to sudden uncommanded pitch changes and many injuries. The ATSB work is a reminder that upsets often have multiple contributing factors and that root cause work can identify not only technical changes but operational mitigations that save lives.
What pilots and operators should do now
1) Enforce a conservative seatbelt policy. Require passengers to keep belts fastened whenever seated and brief crew to expect that clear air turbulence can occur with no visual warning. Empirical injury data show this simple measure cuts injuries dramatically. When the seatbelt sign goes on, cabin service must stop immediately. When the plane is at cruise and there is convective activity along the route, consider an earlier suspension of service than normal.
2) Harden cabin procedures for long haul service. Train cabin crew to secure carts with two independent latches, to check overhead bin latches before and after service runs, and to stagger meal service so entire cabin aisles are not blocked. Rehearse emergency response for multiple simultaneous injured passengers including rapid triage and moving ambulatory patients no farther than required.
3) Improve turbulence avoidance and sharing. Use real time turbulence products, eddy dissipation rate data if available, pilot reports, and ATC weather products aggressively. When a crew encounters turbulence, file a PIREP or operational report quickly and pass up precise time and position; that information helps following flights and builds the shared picture for other operators.
4) Maintenance and systems vigilance. When an upset has any apparent technical signature, preserve the flight data recorder and CVR and initiate maintenance inspections per manufacturer and regulator guidance. If any unusual flight control or cockpit indications appear, treat them as high priority. Past upsets have sometimes revealed combinations of sensor faults and software interactions that required both engineering and procedural fixes.
5) Regulators should push for operational mitigations, not only technical fixes. Requirements that force operators to tighten service policies during forecasted high turbulence, mandatory reporting of certain in flight accelerations, and harmonized guidance on how to secure cockpit and crew seats during service are inexpensive and high impact.
What crews should say to passengers
Be practical and direct. Remind passengers that turbulence can be sudden. Ask them to keep belts fastened low and tight while seated. If there is forecast convective activity along the route, explain that the carrier will suspend cabin service proactively. Briefings framed around injury prevention land better than generic safety statements.
Why the industry must move faster
We have the data and the experience. When an incident happens, investigations point to a mix of human and technical contributors. Fixes that reduce risk are often operational and low cost but require leadership and enforcement. Keeping passengers and crew safe is a daily, tactical job for flight crews and an organizational priority for operators. If a LATAM 787 upset were to occur, the same lessons would apply: seatbelts, secured cabin, timely reporting, and thorough technical follow up.
If you want a follow up, I can revise this piece to cover any specific incident reporting after February 21, 2024 and walk through the flight data and the investigation findings with the same operational lens. For now the message for crews and operators is clear and unchanged: basic discipline in cabin safety and aggressive reporting and maintenance are the most effective countermeasures to sudden upsets.