What happened
On September 26, 2018, an Airbus A321-231, registration PT-MXH, operated by TAM Linhas Aéreas, was on approach to Aeródromo Governador André Franco Montoro (SBGR) in Guarulhos, Brazil. The aircraft, carrying 184 passengers and 8 crew members, had arrived from Fortaleza.
During the descent, air traffic control authorized the crew to perform a GNSS RNAV Y approach for runway 27L. However, during the reprogramming of the Flight Management Guidance System (FMGS), the pilot in command erroneously selected the procedure for runway 2/27R. Consequently, the aircraft executed the approach and landed on the parallel runway 27R, which was not the runway assigned by the controller. At the time of the landing, runway 27R was clear, and there were no other aircraft at the holding point, resulting in no collisions or damage to the aircraft.
The investigation
CENIPA's investigation focused on the breakdown in communication and situational awareness between the flight crew and air traffic services. The investigation examined the FMGS reprogramming process, the radio transcripts between the aircraft and São Paulo Approach (APP-SP) and Guarulhos Tower (TWR-GR), and the adherence to standard phraseology.
Investigators found that the crew failed to cross-check the assigned runway during their radio transmissions. Furthermore, the investigation revealed that the air traffic controller noticed the aircraft was aligned with the wrong runway when it was below 100 feet, but chose not to intervene, fearing that a late correction might cause cockpit stress or unsafe flight conditions. The investigation also noted that the lack of standardized phraseology from both the crew and the controllers contributed to the error.