What happened
On May 11, 2010, an Airbus A330 (flight 8U771/AAW771) was operating a scheduled service from O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, with a planned stop at Tripoli International Airport, Libya, before continuing to London. The aircraft departed Johannesburg at 19:25 UTC carrying 93 passengers and 11 crew members.
During the final approach to runway 09 at Tripoli, the flight crew initiated a go-around procedure after notifying the tower. While the aircraft initially gained altitude and speed above the minimum descent altitude, it subsequently experienced a rapid descent. The Airbus A330 struck the ground approximately 1,200 meters from the runway threshold, landing 150 meters to the right of the centerline. The impact and subsequent fire resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft. The accident caused 103 fatalities, with only one survivor, an eight-year-old boy.
Findings
Investigators determined that the crew failed to maintain a common action plan during the approach and missed approach phases. A critical factor was the inappropriate application of flight control inputs during the go-around, specifically nose-down inputs that were likely driven by a somatogravic illusion caused by aircraft acceleration. This illusion led the crew to believe they were in a different state than they actually were, especially as they failed to acquire visual references.
Several contributing factors were identified, including:
- Poor cockpit resource management (CRM) and limited coordination between the two pilots.
- Pilot fatigue, which may have impaired performance during the flight.
- A lack of feedback from a previous flight operated by the same crew on the same aircraft.
- Inadequate training and failure to adhere to standard operating procedures and company manuals.
- Environmental factors, such as weather information that did not accurately reflect the actual conditions at the airport.
- Radio frequency congestion caused by simultaneous air and ground movement communications.