In a heart-stopping incident over the Atlantic, a commercial airliner suddenly plunged 100 feet, hurling passengers into chaos and sparking fears of mechanical failure. But experts now point to an unlikely villain: cosmic rays from space.

The drama unfolded on a routine transatlantic flight from New York to London. Midway through the journey, at cruising altitude of 35,000 feet, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner experienced a violent lurch.

Eyewitness accounts describe overhead bins bursting open, coffee spilling across the cabin, and screams echoing as unbelted travelers tumbled. One passenger, tech executive Sarah Kline, recounted: "It felt like the floor vanished. I hit the ceiling, then dropped back -- pure terror in seconds."

The drop lasted mere moments, but altimeters recorded a stomach-churning 100-foot descent in under 10 seconds. Pilots regained control swiftly, issuing a mayday call and diverting to Shannon Airport in Ireland for inspection.

No injuries were reported, though several passengers sought medical checks for whiplash and anxiety. The airline, a major U.S. carrier, grounded the jet for 48 hours, praising the crew's "exemplary response."

Initial suspicions fell on turbulence or engine issues, but black box data and FAA investigations revealed a startling truth: cosmic radiation interference.

High-energy particles from distant supernovas -- cosmic rays -- bombarded the aircraft's avionics. These invisible bullets, traveling near light speed, disrupted the fly-by-wire system, causing erroneous sensor readings that tricked the autopilot into a brief nosedive.

Dr. Elena Vasquez, a NASA astrophysicist, explained: "At 35,000 feet, cosmic ray flux is 100 times higher than sea level. They can flip bits in electronics, mimicking faults.

This isn't sci-fi -- it's physics meeting aviation vulnerability." Data from the European Space Agency corroborates: similar glitches have spiked 15% in polar routes, where Earth's magnetic shield weakens.