A Qantas Airbus A380 took a scary nose dive over the Pacific Ocean after flying through turbulence caused by another A380

• A Qantas Airbus A380 took a 10-second nosedive Sunday evening after flying through the wake turbulence generated by another Qantas A380.
• Qantas Flight 94 was en route from Los Angeles to Melbourne, Australia when the incident took place roughly two hours into the trip.
• At the time, Qantas Flight 12, the other Airbus, was flying 1000 feet above and about 23 miles ahead of Flight 94.
• No injuries have been reported as a result of the incident.

A Qantas Airbus A380 took a nose dive over the Pacific Ocean Sunday evening after flying through the wake turbulence generated by another Qantas A380.

Qantas Flight 94 departed Los Angeles International Airport Sunday evening at 11:29 pm. Roughly, two hours into the 16-hour flight to Melbourne, Australia, the Qantas superjumbo reportedly dove for 10 seconds while flying at more than 30,000 feet.

One passenger described the incident to the Australian newspaper as a 10-second free fall dive towards the Pacific Ocean.

The incident was a result of Flight 94 flying through the wake turbulence generated by another Qantas A380. At the time of the incident, the other superjumbo, operating as Qantas Flight 12, was flying 1000 feet above and about 23 miles ahead of Flight 94.

According to Flightaware.com's tracking data, Sydney-bound Flight 12 took off from LAX just 71 seconds before Flight 94.

Wake turbulence is described as the vortices generated by the plane's wings as it flies through the air. According to the US Federal Aviation Administration, these vortices emanate from the wingtips and tend to descend as it trails the aircraft.

"We understand that any sudden turbulence can be a jolt for passengers but aircraft are designed to handle it safely," Qantas Fleet Safety Captain Debbie Slade said in a statement to Business Insider. "As the Captain explained to passengers at the time, this A380 experienced a short burst of wake turbulence from another A380 flying ahead and above it."

Even though there are safety guards to reduce the likelihood of wake turbulence, there's no surefire way to prevent it. Which is why airlines tell passengers to always keep their seat belts fastened during flight, Captain Slade explained.

Flight 94 landed safely in Melbourne 24 minutes late. No injuries have reported as a result of the incident.

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