Wrong Button Sends Jet Nearly Upside Down

This animation is a recreation of the incident. In a chilling reminder of how a simple human error can override the highest of high technology, an investigation has shown that All Nippon Airways Co. narrowly escaped a catastrophe earlier this month when its plane almost flipped over after a co-pilot hit the wrong button while trying to open the cockpit door for the plane’s captain, returning from the restroom. According to the Japan Transport Safety Board, two flight attendants were slightly hurt when the Boeing 737-700, with 117 people aboard, tipped more than 130 degrees to the left at one point and dived about 1,900 meters in 30 seconds during a flight from Naha on the southern island of Okinawa to Tokyo. Two flight attendants were slightly injured and six passengers became airsick or reported neck pains. The video above is a recreation of the mishap compiled via computer images on the transportation ministry’s site. ANA said a 38-year-old co-pilot likely hit the rudder trim controls by mistake instead of pushing the door unlock button to let the captain in after he stepped out of the cockpit to go to the restroom. Read more about the incident at http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2011/09/29/wrong-button-sends-ana-je…