Qatar Airways plane drops 1000 feet within 30 seconds after takeoff from Doha

Flight QR-161 was heading to Copenhagen, Denmark, at 2am on January 10, when the near-miss occurred.

The Boeing 787-8 had climbed to about 1800 feet (550m) then dropped by around 1000 feet (300m) within around 30 seconds for reasons unknown, according to The Aviation Herald.

When the plane was at about 1600 feet, the first officer who was flying the aircraft, was cleared to the next waypoint on the flight path.

However, after attempting to turn, with the first officer reportedly flying manually and without ‘flight director’ indications, they allegedly lost situational awareness.

The aircraft was then sent into a descent that reached a 3000fpm (feet per minute) sink rate, the publication reported.

Flight director is a computer-generated marker which shows the horizon and guides pilots along the correct flight path.

With the aircraft dropping 50 feet (15m) per second, the captain took over and recovered the plane – at around 800 feet (250m) – or 16 seconds – above the waters of the Persian Gulf.

A Flightradar24.com playback of the takeoff shows the altitude dropping to 850 feet (259m) after initially reaching 1850 feet (563m).

Once the captain had things back under control, the flight continued to Denmark’s capital where it landed safely about six hours later.

Qatar Airways has now launched an internal investigation.

A spokesperson told news.com.au authorities were immediately made aware of the incident.

“It was immediately reported to authorities and an internal investigation is being carried out,” the spokesperson said.

“The airline follows the most stringent standards of safety, training and reporting and is working to address any findings in line with industry norms.”

Last year Qatar Airways was named the world’s best airline for 2022 by AirlineRatings.com.

The carrier managed to nudge out Air New Zealand, which secured second place, followed by Etihad Airways, Korean Air and Singapore Airlines.