Two years after a Latam Airlines flight from Sydney to Auckland took a terrifying plunge, a passenger has been left frustrated by the company’s withdrawal of an offer of compensation.  It comes after the release of a new report into the accident that caused the Boeing 787 to experience a sudden loss of altitude, leading to several passengers being thrown into the roof of the plane and injuring 50 people, with 12 taken to hospital.  A report from Chile’s General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics concludes the incident originated from an accidental movement of the captain’s seat, which exerted pressure on the control column sensor and overrode the autopilot, leading to a temporary loss of control.  Colombian resident Larry Reef was one of the 263 passengers on Latam flight LA800 on March 11, 2024, who “thought the worst” as the plane experienced the “immediate drop”.  Reef, a 49-year-old English teacher from South Africa, said he initially received an offer of US$1500 ($2600) from Latam Airlines – less than half the price of the ticket.  Reef said he was also dealing with a “serious family crisis” immediately after the incident, which meant having to put processing his trauma and entertaining Latam’s offer “on the back burner”.  Larry Reef was one of the 263 passengers on Latam Airlines flight LA800 from Sydney to Auckland, where the aircraft experienced sudden loss of altitude. Photo / Dean Purcell  The incident meant he avoided flying for almost two years: “I actually took a flight to Canada in December, which was the first flight I’d taken since the event.”  Reef was initially advised by a lawyer not to communicate with Latam because a case was being prepared against the airline company in the US, but it never amounted to anything.  When he decided to contact Latam about compensation this year, explaining his situation and lack of communication in the months before, the airline company responded with a renewed offer of US$1500.  But Reef said when he asked if the amount could be reviewed to reflect the price of the ticket and severity of the incident, Latam responded by withdrawing the offer and closed the case – leaving him with nothing.  Reef, who was previously a regular traveller with Latam, said he was “surprised” and “confused” at how the company dealt with the situation.  “I was just wondering if there was any way we could find a solution. I didn’t give them a number, I didn’t say, ‘okay, I want US$3000’, I just wanted to know if there was any way they could relook at this.  “I deeply believe Latam did their best under the circumstances. Nothing can prepare you for something like this. I was just a little surprised by the sort of communication.  “I don’t know if any of the passengers on this flight were able to be compensated.”  A Latam Airlines Boeing 787 at Auckland Airport. Photo / Brett Phibbs  Latam Airlines declined to comment when approached by the Herald about Reef’s situation or compensation to other passengers.  ‘I just burst into tears’  Reef managed to escape physical injury from the Latam flight but said trauma from the incident lingered for months.  “I think the first few months were rough,” he said.  After “never missing a class” in his two decades of teaching in Latin America, Reef said he had to take time off following the incident and this led to a loss of income.  “I was just physically, emotionally drained and that’s very unusual for me.”  Reef said he realised the impact the incident had on him mentally two months later after reading news of a deadly Singapore Airlines flight from London to Changi that experienced “severe turbulence”, killing one man and injuring 104.  “Ordinarily that incident wouldn’t really impact me, but after reading about it, I just burst into tears. I don’t know if that’s like a sort of delayed post traumatic stress that I had heard I was going to probabl...