B763, en-route, New York NY USA, 2000
B763, en-route, New York NY USA, 2000
Summary
On 30 March 2000, a Delta Airlines-operated Boeing 767-300 which was 15nm southeast of New York JFK after departure from there and was being flown visually at night by the First Officer with an 'international relief pilot' as extra crew on the flight deck, achieved 66 degrees of right bank before any of the the pilots noticed. A successful recovery was made with no consequences for the occupants and the aircraft then returned to JFK.
Flight Details
Aircraft
Operator
Type of Flight
Public Transport (Passenger)
Flight Origin
Intended Destination
Actual Destination
Take-off Commenced
Yes
Flight Airborne
Yes
Flight Completed
Yes
Phase of Flight
Climb
Location
Approx.
15 NM SE of JFK Airport, NY
HF
Tag(s)
Inappropriate crew response (automatics),
Ineffective Monitoring,
Manual Handling,
Spatial Disorientation
LOC
Tag(s)
Temporary Control Loss,
Extreme Bank
EPR
Tag(s)
“Emergency” declaration
Outcome
Damage or injury
Yes
Non-aircraft damage
Yes
Non-occupant Casualties
No
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 30 March 2000, the crew of a Boeing 767-300 being operated by Delta Airlines on a scheduled passenger flight from New York JFK to Frankfurt temporarily lost control of the aircraft during the climb whilst flying manually in 'dark night' VMC with an augmenting 'relief pilot' present on the flight deck. A successful recovery was made with no consequences for the occupants and the aircraft then returned to New York
Investigation
An Investigation was carried out by the National Transportation Safety Board (USA) (NTSB)
It was established that the aircraft had reached a 66 degree bank to the right before any of the three pilots noticed.
The Probable Cause of the occurrence was determined as "the Firsr Officer's failure to maintain control of the airplane during climb out over water at night, which was a result of spatial disorientation" with "factors in the incident (being)the cloud layer and dark night.
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Further Reading
For further information, see the NTSB Incident Report (IAD00IA032)
