B752, vicinity London Gatwick UK, 2008
B752, vicinity London Gatwick UK, 2008
Summary
On 13 December 2008, a rushed daylight radar to ILS approach into London Gatwick was made by a Monarch Airlines Boeing 757-200 inbound on a short haul passenger flight. During the approach, flown by the aircraft commander, the speedbrakes had been extended prior to joining the FAT to help slow down, and both flight crew then forgot that the speed brakes were still extended and also did not realise that the commander had disconnected the Autothrottle whilst manually positioning the aircraft onto the ILS LLZ after a late selection of the LLZ mode on the FD had caused an initial fly-through. A speed loss and eventual stick shaker activation at about 1000 ft aal followed after which a go around, initially somewhat unstable until control was passed to the co pilot, was flown with the speed brakes still remaining unintentionally extended until the aircraft was approaching 3000ft aal after which the remainder of the flight was uneventful.
Flight Details
Aircraft
Operator
Type of Flight
Public Transport (Passenger)
Flight Origin
Intended Destination
Take-off Commenced
Yes
Flight Airborne
Yes
Flight Completed
Yes
Phase of Flight
Missed Approach
Location
Location - Airport
Airport
General
Tag(s)
Approach not stabilised
HF
Tag(s)
Distraction,
Inappropriate crew response (automatics),
Ineffective Monitoring,
Procedural non compliance
LOC
Tag(s)
Flight Management Error,
Temporary Control Loss
Outcome
Damage or injury
Yes
Aircraft damage
Minor
Non-aircraft damage
Yes
Non-occupant Casualties
No
Occupant Injuries
None
Occupant Fatalities
None
Off Airport Landing
Yes
Ditching
Yes
Causal Factor Group(s)
Group(s)
Aircraft Operation
Safety Recommendation(s)
Group(s)
None Made
Investigation Type
Type
Independent
Description
On 13 December 2008, a rushed daylight radar to ILS approach into London Gatwick was made by a Monarch Airlines Boeing 757-200 inbound on a short haul passenger flight. During the approach, flown by the aircraft commander, the speedbrakes had been extended prior to joining the FAT to help slow down, and both flight crew then forgot that the speed brakes were still extended and also did not realise that the commander had disconnected the Autothrottle whilst manually positioning the aircraft onto the ILS LLZ after a late selection of the LLZ mode on the FD had caused an initial fly-through. A speed loss and eventual stick shaker activation at about 1000 ft aal followed after which a go around, initially somewhat unstable until control was passed to the co pilot, was flown with the speed brakes still remaining unintentionally extended until the aircraft was approaching 3000ft aal after which the remainder of the flight was uneventful.
The Investigation
The UK AAIB carried out an Investigation into this Incident and their Report attributed the incident to the “rushed approach putting the crew under increasing pressure” which led to both a failure to follow relevant SOPs and to an lack of perception of the cues for the excess drag afforded by the relationship of aircraft attitude to the applied thrust both descending on the ILS GS and during the subsequent go around. However, it was also noted in the Report that “having allowed the aircraft to slow to a speed where stick shaker activation occurred on final approach, the situation was recovered by the commander making best use of the resources available to him by handing over control to the co-pilot, who retained his situational awareness”. No Safety Recommendations were made.
