What happened
On 1 February 2016, a Boeing 757-28A, registration G-OOBE, was performing a chartered passenger flight from Las Palmas Airport to Bristol Airport. During the approach to Runway 2LL, the aircraft encountered strong, gusty winds. While the initial approach was stable, the aircraft began to drift high and left of the centerline at approximately 300 feet above ground level, prompting the crew to initiate a go-around.
During the climb, the aircraft experienced a significant decay in airspeed. The pitch attitude increased sharply, reaching a maximum of over 30 degrees, while the airspeed dropped to a minimum of 110 kt. The crew eventually stabilized the aircraft, climbed to 5,000 feet, and performed a second, successful approach to land safely. There were no injuries and no fatalities among the 162 passengers or 8 crew members.
The investigation
The AAIB investigation examined the flight data and the crew's actions during the high-workload period. It was established that the co-pilot, who was performing supervised line flying following a period of medical leave, was acting as the pilot flying. During the go-around, the co-pilot engaged the autopilot using a company mnemonic but failed to verbalize this action to the commander.
Because the commander was unaware the autopilot was active, his verbal instructions to lower the nose were not immediately acted upon by the co-pilot. Furthermore, the investigation found that the aircraft's automatic flight control system attempted to level off at the missed approach altitude, which, combined with the high rate of climb and increasing wind, contributed to the rapid reduction in airspeed.
Findings
- The approach became destabilized due to challenging wind conditions and a lack of updated gust information from the tower.
- A lack of communication regarding the engagement of the autopilot led to a breakdown in situational awareness.
- The crew's performance was affected by being "startled" by the rapid development of the high-pitch attitude.
- The high rate of climb and the activation of altitude capture mode prevented the automatic systems from effectively managing the aircraft's pitch and speed.