‘Action Slip’ Caused British Airways 777 Rejected Takeoff

The U.Ok.’s Air Accidents Investigation Department (AAIB) has launched its ultimate report on a “critical incident” involving a British Airways Boeing 777-200 plane that carried out a rejected takeoff at London Gatwick Airport on June 28, 2024.

Investigators decided the incident occurred when the primary officer inadvertently started lowering the throttles on the V1 determination velocity as an alternative of eradicating his hand from them as required by process.

“The co-pilot started retarding the thrust levers at airspeed V1, as an alternative of eradicating his hand from them. After momentarily advancing them once more, he initiated the rejected takeoff process round 2 KIAS later,” the AAIB report acknowledged.

Incident Timeline

The incident occurred because the flight to Vancouver, Canada, was departing from Runway 26L at London Gatwick Airport with 334 passengers and 13 crew members on board. In accordance with the investigation, when the plane reached V1 velocity (160 knots), the primary officer, who was the pilot flying, inadvertently pulled again the thrust levers as an alternative of following commonplace process to take away his hand.

After recognizing the error, the co-pilot momentarily superior the thrust levers once more earlier than deciding to decide to a rejected takeoff at roughly 162 knots. The plane reached a most velocity of about 167 knots earlier than coming to a cease effectively earlier than the tip of the runway.

A British Airways Boeing 777 at London Heathrow.
(Photograph: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

Airport firefighters responded to the scene to extinguish a hearth that developed on the right-side major wheel brakes as a result of heavy braking motion. No accidents had been reported amongst passengers or crew.

The 777 remained out of service for around four days following the incident.

The AAIB categorised the occasion as a critical incident ensuing from what human components specialists time period an “motion slip” – an unintended motion that happens throughout routine or extremely discovered motor sequences.

The primary officer, who had 6,156 complete flying hours with 2,700 hours on the plane kind, was coming back from annual depart, having final flown on June 14, 2024. Investigators famous that he “expressed shock in himself over the inadvertent thrust discount and couldn’t establish a motive for it.”

Climate situations on the time had been favorable with an 11-knot headwind and a dry runway floor. The plane was working roughly 20 metric tons beneath its most takeoff weight.

“The incident emphasizes the advanced nature of the takeoff roll,” the report acknowledged. “Pilots carry out a collection of motor actions throughout a standard takeoff, whereas additionally mentally getting ready themselves to determine upon and enact completely different motion sequences for an RTO.”

Preventive Measures

The investigation revealed that the operator had already recognized the danger of motion slips in flight operations. Simply 4 days earlier than the incident, the airline had launched an Operational Security Discover addressing management motion errors, recommending that pilots “pause earlier than execution, and cognitively take into account what the required motion is, methodically execute the motion, affirm appropriate execution.”

In its report, the company famous that British Airways “has included the broader difficulty of ‘focus’ in its recurrent simulator coaching” and has been cautious about publicizing particular incidents to keep away from inadvertently priming crews to make related errors.

“Pilots can enhance their particular person efficiency by mentally rehearsing what would possibly seem to be routine components of an operation, particularly after time away from flying,” the report concluded.

Ryan based AirlineGeeks.com again in February 2013 and has amassed appreciable expertise within the aviation sector. His work has been featured in a number of publications and information shops, together with CNN, WJLA, CNET, and Enterprise Insider. Throughout his time within the trade, he is labored in roles pertaining to airport/airline operations whereas holding a B.S. in Air Transportation Administration from Arizona State College together with an MBA. Ryan has expertise in a number of aspects of the trade from behind the yoke of a Cessna 172 to interviewing airline trade executives. Ryan works for AirlineGeeks’ proprietor FLYING Media, spearheading protection within the business aviation house.

Newest posts by Ryan Ewing (see all)