Passenger jet at Luton airport narrowly avoided disaster
An Investigations found plane was just 13ft off the ground when taking off
A passenger jet departing from Luton airport to Athens narrowly avoided a dangerous situation by being only 13 feet above the ground when it cleared the runway.
According to a report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), the incident on 22nd April 2022 involved a Boeing 737-800 with 162 passengers and six crew members on board.
The investigation revealed that the pilots did not adjust the settings on the flight management computer as required.
This failure to revise the computer settings was crucial because the pilots were asked to take off from an intersection on the runway rather than using its full length, impacting the thrust settings.
As a consequence, the plane lifted off a mere 162 metres from the end of the runway, presenting a risk that it would not have been able to stop safely if there had been an emergency.
The AAIB noted the potential danger: “If the aircraft had suffered a loss of thrust during take-off, there was a potential that it would not have been able to stop on the remaining paved surface following a decision to reject the take-off or, alternatively, achieve minimum height clearances during departure following a decision to continue the take-off.”
Such thrust settings are critical as they ensure that a plane can stop safely if a failure occurs and also help clear obstacles beyond the runway.
The flight was operated by Ascend Airways, a company based in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, which offered wet-leasing services to other airlines.
Ascend Airways ceased operations in April.