Pilot Error Causes Airliner to 'Lose Way'
Pilot error caused an airliner to 'lose its way' over London last year, an Air Accidents Investigations Branch (AAIB) report has revealed.
The crew of a LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 737 flight to Warsaw, Flight 282, which had just departed from Heathrow Airport, did not understand the instructions given to them in English by air traffic controllers.
The AAIB report said the crew's failure to understand air traffic commands resulted in the co-pilot entering the wrong co-ordinates into the aircraft's electronic flight management system (FMS).
In what investigators said was a "serious incident", the flight's co-pilot entered an easterly longitude into the system - rather than a westerly, as he was instructed.
This caused the aircraft to divert from its planned track after departing from Heathrow.
Mid-Air Collision over London
In turn, a mid-air collision over London was narrowly averted as the 737 began to fly too close to another aircraft. Controllers had to instruict another aircraft to change direction quickly in order to prevent a collision.
The co-pilot subsequently used standby navigational instruments, and in conjunction with guidance from controllers, the aircraft returned to Heathrow. However, even on the final approach, the aircraft's crew misunderstood the ATC instruction given, and were heading for the wrong runway, which prompted another controller to order other aircraft to leave the area.
The AAIB said the incident, which occurred on 4th June 2007, had been caused by a "simple error" in entering the aircraft's position.
The report said that no technical defects were found with the aircraft or its navigational equipment, and that the crew's difficulties in understanding the commands being given to them had caused the incident to occur.
It said voice recordings from the aircraft had clearly demonstrated that the co-pilot had difficulty "comprehending and communicating" with ATC controllers.
The report stated: "A number of the exchanges were misunderstood, probably as a result of language difficulties...There were a number of exchanges between Lot 282 and the controller in which it was apparent that the commander, who was making the radio calls, was not able to understand some of the instructions".
Investigators added: "The pilots had little idea of their position and, after a few minutes, they were entirely dependent on air traffic controllers for their navigation".
AAIB Safety Recommendations
The AAIB said the incident "demonstrates how reliants pilots may become upon the FMS". It said the incident could have been avoided if a simple check had been undertaken comparing the route entered into the FMS with that displayed on the map.
The report added: "In an event such as this, it is clear that ATC may not be able to rely upon pilots for information about the aircraft's status, and their ability to fly the aircraft accurately. The crew of Lot 282 were not able to communicate adequately the nature and extent of their problem".
The AAIB said that LOT Polish Airlines, the operator of the aircraft, "is considering reminding its pilots of the necessity to use extra caution when manually entering latitude and longitude co-ordinates...[and is] revising its pilot training".
Investigators said it was satisfied with these actions, and that it would not be making any AAIB safety recommendations as a result of the incident.
Source - Airport International's Aviation Correspondent
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