What happened
On 16 February 2016, an Airbus A320-214, registration G-EZTZ, was performing a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The aircraft was carrying 167 passengers and 6 crew members. During the initial climb phase following lift-off, the pilot flying requested that the landing gear be retracted. However, the pilot monitoring mistakenly moved the flap lever to the 0 position instead of selecting the gear up command.
Upon realizing the error, the pilot monitoring immediately returned the lever to its previous setting. The aircraft maintained a positive rate of climb, and the airspeed remained above the minimum selectable speed (VLS). The flight proceeded to its destination without further complications, and there were no injuries or damage to the aircraft.
The investigation
The investigation examined the aircraft's flap system logic and the crew's actions. At the time of the error, the aircraft was configured with flaps and slats at Config 1 + F. When the lever was moved to position 0, the flaps began to retract, though the slats initially remained in their previous position. Because the pilot monitoring corrected the lever position so quickly, the slats did not fully retract. However, the investigation found that moving the lever from 0 back to 1 did not re-extend the flaps, meaning the aircraft continued the climb in a reduced flap configuration.
Findings
- The incident was classified as an action slip, where the pilot intended to perform a correct task but executed a different, highly practiced physical movement.
- The error occurred during a routine phase of flight where tasks are often performed via automatic processing.
- The operator noted that such slips are a known vulnerability in highly practiced, repetitive flight deck procedures.