What happened
On 2 March 2023, an Emirates Airbus A380-842, registration A6-EVJ, was completing a scheduled flight from Dubai to Singapore. During the final approach to Changi Airport Runway 02L, the aircraft encountered heavy rain. As the aircraft descended, the pilot flying disengaged the autopilot at approximately 180ft AGL to fly the aircraft manually.
During this manual phase, the aircraft began drifting to the right of the runway centerline. Although the pilot monitoring issued "go-around" callouts, the pilot flying continued the landing attempt. The aircraft touched down near the right edge of the runway and veered further right, causing the right-hand main landing gear to briefly exit the runway surface. This movement resulted in the destruction of three runway edge lights and caused a puncture to one of the aircraft's tyres.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the flight crew's handling of the aircraft and their adherence to standard operating procedures. Investigators examined flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) data, which revealed that the pilot flying applied inappropriate rudder inputs to attempt to correct the lateral drift.
Furthermore, the investigation looked into the communication between the crew members. It was established that while the pilot monitoring called for a go-around twice, the pilot flying did not fully comprehend the first call and did not seek clarification, and failed to hear the second call entirely. The investigation also reviewed meteorological conditions and the information provided by Air Traffic Control (ATC) regarding the rain intensity at the aerodrome.
Findings
- The aircraft was flying through heavy rain, and a sudden increase in rain intensity at 200ft AGL affected the pilot's handling of the aircraft.
- The approach was unstable due to the aircraft drifting right of the centerline.
- The pilot flying used inappropriate rudder inputs to try and correct the lateral deviation.
- The pilot flying misjudged the severity of the drift, believing the offset was still safe for landing.
- The pilot flying failed to follow the operator's standard operating procedures, which mandate an immediate go-around when such a call is made by a crew member.
- There was a breakdown in Crew Resource Management (CRM) as the pilot flying did not ask for clarification when a message was not understood.
Safety action
Following the incident, the aircraft operator shared a summary of the event with its pilots and integrated the event into recurrent training. The operator also reinforced that a go-around must be executed immediately upon the callout. Additionally, the air traffic service provider conducted briefings to remind controllers to inform pilots of significant changes in local weather conditions.