Passengers on a flight from Australia to New Zealand were being tossed around in a cabin after a technical problem caused the plane to take a brief nosedive -- leaving many injured.
Check it out ... one passenger's doubled over in pain and attended to by others, while another's clutching her head in agony onboard an LATAM Airlines Boeing 787-9 ... a model that's, ironically, called the Dreamliner.
It was certainly a tense moment Monday for everyone on board ... they're all looking around, wide-eyed and scared, not knowing what the heck just happened or if it's gonna happen again.
One passenger said some folks weren't strapped into their seatbelts at the time of the drop ... while another told CNN some people were tossed around so vigorously, the plane's ceiling ended up with blood on it!
Despite all the mid-air chaos, the flight -- which was stopping in New Zealand before heading to its final destination in Santiago, Chile -- managed to land safely at Auckland Airport as planned.
A spokesperson for the airline didn't elaborate on what the tech issue was ... just telling the New Zealand Herald the situation had affected some crew and passengers. Understatement much?
Roughly 50 passengers were treated at the airport for mild to moderate injuries, and one person is in serious condition.