THE CREW of a Ryanair flight flew too low while on approach to Gatwick airport after becoming distracted while trying to resolve an earlier issue and forgetting to engage an autopilot function.
The UK’s Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) has issued a report into the February 7th incident which involved flight FR-1182 from Shannon to Gatwick.
There were 125 passengers and a crew of six on board the Boeing 737-800 jet which was on approach to Gatwick when the pilots were alerted by air traffic control and an automated warning system on board their jet that they were flying too low.
The investigation established that the pilots were expecting to carry out an instrument landing system approach to Gatwick and had briefed accordingly.
However, during their descent, air traffic control informed the pilots that an instrument landing approach was not available and that the aircraft would be given radar vectors for a visual approach.
The pilots were asked if they could accept an early turn onto the final approach with a corresponding shortened approach. The crew agreed to the request which resulted in their aircraft being above the ideal approach path.
The pilots worked to re-establish the correct approach path; however, the combination of the shortened approach track, the requirement to regain the correct glide-slope and other routine cockpit duties “increased the crew’s workload”.
The pilots were also alerted to the problem when they saw the PAPIs (precision approach path indicator), a visual aid by a runway that provides guidance data.
The crew re-established the correct approach angle and continued the approach for a safe landing.
According to the report: “Both pilots stated that, due to haze, they could not see the PAPIs until about the time of the terrain alert, and that as they could see the ground and runway throughout the approach, there was no risk of ground collision”.