March 13 (Reuters) - The movement of a flight deck seat

is a key focus of the probe into a sudden mid-air dive by a

LATAM Airlines Boeing 787 plane that left more

than 50 people injured, aviation industry publication the Air

Current reported on Wednesday.

The plane, which was heading from Sydney to Auckland on

Monday, dropped abruptly before stabilizing, causing those on

board to be thrown about the cabin.

Based on the available information it was understood the

seat movement was "pilot induced, not intentionally," the report

said, citing a senior airline safety official.

"The seat movement caused the nose down" angle of the

aircraft, the publication said, citing another anonymous source

who added the possibility of an electrical short was also under

review.

Boeing ( BA ) is expected to release a message to 787 operators

regarding the incident, the Air Current reported, in a sign a

fleet-wide issue could be involved though it said the specific

topic was not known to the publication.

Boeing ( BA ) declined to comment on the report, instead referring

Reuters to the investigating agencies.

Chile's aviation regulator, which is leading the probe

given it involves a Chilean airline flying in international

airspace, said the investigation "just got underway" and its

investigators had arrived in New Zealand.

LATAM said it "continues to work in coordination with the

authorities to support the investigation" and said it was not

appropriate to comment on speculation that has circulated.

LATAM is based in Chile and the flight, which had 263

passengers and nine crew members, was due to continue on to

Santiago after stopping in Auckland.

The cause of the flight's apparent sudden change in

trajectory has not yet been explained. Safety experts say most

airplane accidents are caused by a cocktail of factors that need

to be thoroughly investigated.

New Zealand's Transport Accident Investigation Commission

said on Tuesday it was seizing the cockpit voice recorder and

flight data recorder of the flight, which would provide

information about the conversations between the pilots and the

plane's movement.