History of the Flight
The crew reported for duty at 1700 hrs at Newcastle Airport for a round trip to Palma, Majorca. The outbound flight departed at 1855 hrs and was uneventful. At Palma, the commander experienced difficulty releasing the parking brake and requested the first officer's assistance. The return flight, operated by the commander, was uneventful until landing at Newcastle.
Approaching Newcastle, the crew self-positioned to the ILS and then, at the commander's request, conducted a visual approach to Runway 25. The commander disconnected the autopilot at 1,500 feet and the aircraft touched down in the normal touchdown zone. The touchdown was described as 'firm'. After main wheels contact, the aircraft tracked right, and both sets of main wheels left the paved surface. The commander instructed the first officer to use rudder to correct direction. The first officer applied left rudder, and the aircraft regained the paved surface after traveling 265 metres on grass. The nose wheel touched down 100 metres before the aircraft returned to the runway.
The first officer slowed to taxi speed, and the commander resumed control. The senior cabin crew member entered the flight deck to inquire if there was a problem and was told everything was 'normal'. The commander taxied to the parking area and passengers disembarked.
The commander later asked the first officer to inform ATC that the aircraft had left the runway. The crew subsequently learned the distance traveled off-runway when they inspected the wheel marks. One runway edge light was found broken, and one aircraft tyre was replaced.
The incident occurred in darkness. Weather was: visibility 30 km, surface wind 260°/3 kt, scattered cloud at 3,000 feet, temperature 12 °C, QNH 1020. The runway surface was dry.
Medical Aspects
The commander had renewed his medical certificate on 3 March 1998, valid until 30 September 1998. After the incident, the commander reported waking the previous morning with a strange feeling in his left foot. He suggested the difficulty at Newcastle may have been caused by his left foot being under the rudder pedal, rendering his steering efforts ineffectual. He sought medical advice and was subsequently hospitalized for neurological examination. He remains unfit for flying duties.
Discussion
The commander had a medical problem leading to subtle incapacitation during a critical flight phase. It appears he experienced gradual health deterioration without being fully aware of its extent. Some indications of deterioration existed before the incident. Another first officer had expressed concern about the commander's motor skills to a manager, who made confidential inquiries but decided no action was needed. The first officer on the incident flight had noticed the commander walking with a limp over three days but did not consider it worse than before.
The aircraft left the runway before the first officer applied corrective rudder. Visibility was clear and wind light, so action could have been taken sooner. The operator subsequently issued a notice reminding crews of company policy to follow through on controls when in the non-handling role.