Cobham B712 at Brisbane on May 27th 2015, stick shaker activation in initial climb

Last Update: December 23, 2015 / 11:57:32 GMT/Zulu time

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Incident Facts

Date of incident
May 27, 2015

Classification
Incident

Flight number
QF-1704

Aircraft Registration
VH-NXM

Aircraft Type
Boeing 717-200

ICAO Type Designator
B712

A Cobham Aviation Boeing 717-200 on behalf of Qantas, registration VH-NXM performing flight QF-1704 from Brisbane,QL to Gladstone,QL (Australia) with 49 passengers and 5 crew, was in the initial climb out of Brisbane's runway 19, when at about 2900 feet MSL the stick shaker activated. The crew lowered the nose and introduced a shallow descent descending through 2800 feet MSL, identified that the flaps had been inadvertently retracted, extended the flaps to the correct position and continued the climb and flight for a safe landing in Gladstone about 50 minutes after departure.

Australia's Transportation Safety Board (ATSB) opened an investigation into the occurrence rated an incident advising, that "as part of the investigation, the ATSB will interview the pilot, obtain an operator report and review the data from the aircraft’s flight data recorder", the investigation is estimated to be completed by September 2015.

On Dec 22nd 2015 the ATSB released their final report without a formal conclusion but following safey message:

This incident highlights the susceptibility of pilots to execution errors such as slips and lapses, irrespective of knowledge and experience. Pilots are encouraged to reflect on the circumstances surrounding this incident to help build their own awareness of human factors issues associated with operating complex equipment in a highly dynamic environment.

The ATSB analysed: "Available evidence suggests that the PM inadvertently selected the flap/slat handle to the UP/RET position, instead of selecting the landing gear handle to the UP position. While the reasons are unclear, the most likely explanation resides in an understanding of human error types."

The ATBS reported that the flight data recorder confirmed slats and flaps were in their takeoff positions prior to commencing the takeoff roll. After rotation and initial climb, when the stick shaker activated, the speed was stable between V2 and V2+10 with no decreasing trend. The crew soon noticed that the flaps/slats were in the UP position, the landing gear however was still down. The stick was active for about 2 seconds, the aircraft recuded the rate of climb, the flaps/slats were extended again and reached their commanded position when the aircraft climbed through 330 feet AGL at 174 KIAS, and at about 700 feet AGL the landing gear was retracted.
Incident Facts

Date of incident
May 27, 2015

Classification
Incident

Flight number
QF-1704

Aircraft Registration
VH-NXM

Aircraft Type
Boeing 717-200

ICAO Type Designator
B712

This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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