A passenger was injured on the 14th of December, after an overhead panel fell down during a LATAM flight from Sao Paulo to Frankfurt operated by an Airbus A350.
According to aeroin.net the aircraft involved was PR-XTE, which is a 3.3 year old A350-900 operating flight LA8070. The aircraft departed Sau Paulo on the 13th and arrived at Frankfurt late on the 14th.
During landing passengers were welcomed by an overhead panel falling from the ceiling onto the head of a passenger in the centre row, resulting in minor injuries.
Compartimento de bagagens cai em cima de passageiros em Airbus A350 da LATAM https://t.co/Rg3c4XWOBJ pic.twitter.com/ThQBlNmOTj
— Aeroflap (@Aeroflap) December 18, 2019
Although reports have said that the fixture was an overhead locker, pictures of the incident indicate it was instead a piece of the ceiling trim; positioned along the overhead locker mounting rails. Had the piece have been an overhead locker then greater injuries would have been sustained, due to the increased weight.
“LATAM Airlines Brasil reports that the flight LA8070 (Sao Paulo / Guarulhos-Frankfurt) from Friday (13) landed at its destination at 10:02 am on Saturday (14). Shortly after landing, a trim panel on the aircraft’s inner lining came off. Fortunately, the passengers on board are doing well and have been landed normally and safely. LATAM regrets this and stresses that it provided all necessary assistance to passengers.”
LATAM Spokesperson in contact with AeroIn
LATAM says the aircraft underwent corrective maintenance before performing its next scheduled flight.