A former pilot says the Latam plane plunging mid-air reminds him of a Qantas flight more than a decade ago.

A number of people were thrown into the roof and 50 were treated for injuries.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission's seizing the cockpit voice and flight data recorders, with Chilean authorities taking the lead in the investigation.

Massey University School of Aviation CEO Ashok Poduval says a Qantas flight from Singapore to Perth in 2008 had an autopilot malfunction.

"It puts the aircraft down very sharply, they lost about 600 feet. And that caused several injuries."

LISTEN ABOVE