Vueling A320 near Amsterdam on Aug 29th 2012, intermittent loss comm
Last Update: October 5, 2012 / 10:50:38 GMT/Zulu time
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Aug 29, 2012
Classification
Incident
Airline
Vueling
Flight number
VY-8366
Departure
Malaga, Spain
Destination
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Aircraft Registration
EC-LML
Aircraft Type
Airbus A320
ICAO Type Designator
A320
Confusion arose when Dutch military initially confirmed a possible hijack of the aircraft. Later the military confirmed the fighter aircraft were dispatched because of loss of communication on hand off from Belgium to Netherlands.
Passengers reported the situation on board was normal all time. They were kept on the aircraft for about 4 hours after landing.
The airline confirmed an intermittent loss of communication but said there was no other issue. The intermittent loss of communication obviously prompted Dutch air traffic controllers to assume a security problem on board of the aircraft and to issue relevant alerts. The crew is currently being interviewed how and why the communication with ATC was lost.
On Oct 1st 2012 the Harleem District Public Prosecutor reported that the suspicion of a possible hijack had been created by two factors: a loss of communication as well as a movement of the aircraft other than instructed by ATC. Examination after landing however made clear there was no hijack. The prosecution office reported, that all three radios on board were functional, examination of the computer systems on board however identified a transient fault on the radio being used at that time, a fault which occurs more often and is not unusual. At the time of the occurrence Schiphol was under alert after a WWII bomb had been found on the area of the aerodrome. ATC thus instructed the aircraft to enter a hold via a right turn. The aircraft however had already flown past the position to permit a right hand entry into the holding pattern, the flight management computer/autopilot thus steered the aircraft onto the holding pattern via a left hand turn and subsequently followed the published right hand holding pattern. The investigation of Aviation Police, Military Police and Public Prosecution thus was closed with the conclusion that no criminal offense has occurred.
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Aug 29, 2012
Classification
Incident
Airline
Vueling
Flight number
VY-8366
Departure
Malaga, Spain
Destination
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Aircraft Registration
EC-LML
Aircraft Type
Airbus A320
ICAO Type Designator
A320
This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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