In a shocking incident that occurred in December, a United Airlines flight experienced a terrifying plunge of over 1,400 feet toward the Pacific Ocean shortly after takeoff from Hawaii. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its final report on Thursday, revealing that miscommunication between pilots was the cause of the incident.

According to the report, the crew failed to properly manage the plane's vertical path, airspeed, and nose direction after a mix-up between the captain and co-pilot. The incident took place during heavy rain at Kahului Airport on the island of Maui when the captain asked the co-pilot to reset the wing flaps to "five." Unfortunately, the co-pilot misheard and set it to "15," resulting in the plane pitching downward and accelerating.

Realizing the severity of the situation, the co-pilot urgently called for the captain to pull up, while the ground proximity warning system also sounded an alarm. The Boeing 777 continued to descend, breaking through the cloud cover before the pilots were able to regain control and pull the plane back up. Miraculously, there were no injuries reported among the 271 passengers and 10 crew members onboard.

Despite the scare, the captain decided to continue the flight after being assured by the chief flight attendant that everyone was safe and there was no apparent damage to the aircraft. The rest of the journey proceeded as planned.

The NTSB report did not disclose the names of the pilots involved in the incident. However, it did reveal that the captain had nearly 20,000 hours of flying experience, while the co-pilot had 5,300 hours. Both pilots are still actively flying for United Airlines.

In response to the incident, United Airlines emphasized the importance of safety for their crew and passengers. Joshua Freed, a spokesperson for the airline, stated, "There's nothing more important than the safety of our crew and customers, which is why we're drawing on the lessons learned from this flight to inform the training of all United pilots." United fully cooperated with the independent investigation and made efforts to improve safety across the industry.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which regulates airlines, confirmed that the United pilots reported the incident under a voluntary safety-reporting program. The FAA reviewed the incident and took appropriate action.

Interestingly, the incident initially received little attention until an aviation publication, The Air Current, reported on its analysis of the plane's data. This incident occurred on the same day that another flight, operated by Hawaiian Airlines, encountered severe turbulence, resulting in injuries to 36 passengers, 11 of whom were seriously hurt. The National Weather Service had issued an advisory for thunderstorms and unstable air in the area.

The NTSB only became aware of the United Airlines incident two months later, by which time the relevant black box data had been recorded over. Nevertheless, the NTSB conducted its investigation using flight crew statements and other records.

Following the incident, both pilots underwent additional training, and United Airlines ensured close coordination with the FAA and the Air Line Pilots Association during the investigation. The airline remains committed to enhancing safety and learning from this incident to better train its pilots and prevent similar occurrences in the future.