Pilot of Boeing flight says he lost control after instrument failure

Incident and Possible Causes

• Original passenger account says the 787 briefly lost instruments/controls, the plane suddenly pitched, and about 50 people were injured, some hitting the ceiling.
• Several commenters doubt that a momentary instrument loss alone could cause such a maneuver; they suggest:
  • Clear-air turbulence or mountain wave effects.
  • Autopilot disconnect in an out‑of‑trim condition.
  • Software or fly-by-wire glitch causing uncommanded pitch.
• Later reporting cited in the thread (WSJ) suggests a flight attendant may have hit a seat switch, pushing the pilot into the controls, causing the dive — a theory at odds with early “instrument failure” claims.
• Others reference past events (e.g., Qantas A330 uncommanded pitch-down, turbulence-induced breakups at lower altitudes) to show such dynamics are possible.

Reliability of Passenger Reports and Media

• Strong skepticism about basing conclusions on a lay passenger’s recollection of what the pilot said.
• Passengers are described as notoriously inaccurate storytellers in stressful events.
• Some criticize CNN and other outlets for tying sparse technical facts into a broader Boeing-failure narrative without expert context.

Boeing Safety, Culture, and “Hype Cycle”

• Many argue Boeing’s engineering culture has degraded since financialization/merger, citing:
  • 737 MAX crashes and MCAS design/training decisions.
  • The 737 MAX and 787 groundings as historically unusual.
  • Quality-control issues culminating in door-plug and other recent incidents.
• Others caution about over-focusing on Boeing given the vast number of safe flights, comparing this to media amplification of rare events.
• Some explicitly say they now avoid Boeing aircraft or treat Boeing as “guilty until proven innocent”; others still see flying as statistically very safe.

Technical Discussion: 787 Systems and Software

• 787 is fully fly-by-wire, including braking; loss or spurious inputs in the flight control computers is seen as “very bad.”
• Past 787 issues mentioned:
  • FAA directives requiring periodic power cycling due to flight-control module resets after ~22 days of continuous power.
  • A separate generator-control unit overflow at ~248 days uptime.
• Commenters debate whether modern airliners need computers for stability versus comfort, and note that “frozen controls” should still leave the plane flying its last attitude, absent turbulence.

Comparisons and Broader Context

• Comparisons made to Airbus incidents (A330, A350 evacuation success) and to other manufacturers’ relative records.
• Some argue Airbus and others show similar technical glitches (e.g., required periodic reboots) but without the same public distrust.
• Several point to aviation incident databases (AvHerald, ASN) to show that non-fatal but noteworthy events happen regularly; what’s new is the public’s narrative about Boeing.