ANA plane almost turn upside down as co-pilot presses command button instead cockpit door lock switch

An All Nippon Airways plane narrowly avoided disaster earlier this month when it plunged over the Pacific, almost turning upside down. The ANA flight, with 117 passengers and crew on board, dived 1,900 meters in 30 seconds in the incident off the southern Shizuoka district, Japan on Sept 6. The maneuver happened when the co-pilot, in trying to unlock the cockpit door for the captain who was returning from the toilet, mistook a command button for the cockpit door lock switch nearby. The incident occurred at about 10:50 p.m. while the plane was making its way across the Pacific. A senior ANA official apologized to travelers at a press conference on Wednesday.

The plane later managed to touch down at Tokyo’s Haneda airport safely.Two crew members were slightly injured, while four passengers reported health problems following the incident.Images from the flight recorder on the Boeing 737-700 showed the plane veered to the right and then sharply to the left, before dropping backwards.The aircraft tipped more than 130 degrees to the left at one point, but the darkness outside meant many of those on board did not realize the craft had almost flipped over.