United Flight from Maui Plunged to Within 800 Feet of Pacific Ocean Soon After Takeoff

United Flight from Maui Plunged to Within 800 Feet of Pacific Ocean Soon After Takeoff
A United Airlines jet taxis at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on Sept. 19, 2014. Scott Olson/Getty Images
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A United Airlines flight suddenly took a steep dive shortly after take off from a Hawaiian airport, plunging 1,400 feet to within 775 feet of the Pacific Ocean.

The incident happened on Dec. 18, just 71 seconds after United Flight UA1722 took off from Kahului Airport at 2:49 p.m. local time from the island of Maui en route to San Fransisco, according to data from flight tracking service flightradar24.