By Marlene Lenthang -
NBC News
A United Airlines flight performed a terrifying maneuver as it was taking off in late 2022 from Maui: It suddenly dropped to just 800 feet from the Pacific Ocean, flight data released Monday shows.
The crash came just 71 seconds after United Airlines Flight UA 1722 took off from Maui's Kahului Airport bound for San Francisco on December 18, according to data from Flight Radar, a flight-tracking website.
What happened was first reported by The Air Current.
Disclosed information from the flight shows that the plane took off at 2:49 p.m. local time and rose to an altitude of 2,200 feet when it suddenly began to drop and fell as low as 775 feet above the Pacific Ocean.
The fall caused the plane to descend at a vertical speed of almost 8,600 feet per minute, according to the data.
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The flight managed to regain an altitude of 2,350 feet soon after.
The crash and recovery took a total of less than a minute, according to the data.
United Airlines pilots received additional training following the incident.NurPhoto via Getty Images
The plane had taken off as Hawaii was experiencing stormy weather with showers and thunderstorms throughout the region, according to the National Weather Service office in Honolulu.
On December 18, Maui was under flash flood warnings, high surf warnings, and gale warnings.
The flight continued its journey, arriving in San Francisco at 9:03 p.m. local time.
After landing in San Francisco, United said, the pilots filed "the appropriate safety briefing."
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United coordinated with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Air Line Pilots Association "
on an investigation that ultimately resulted in pilots receiving additional training
," he said.
“Safety remains our top priority,” the airline said in a statement.
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United said the two pilots involved, who have approximately 25,000 hours of flight experience between them, fully cooperated with the investigation and their training program is continuing.
The airline declined to provide any further information about the incident.
The FAA said the flight crew reported the incident to it as part of a voluntary safety reporting program and that the agency reviewed the incident and took "appropriate action."