Jet Airways B773 at London on Aug 30th 2016, unsafe departure
Last Update: August 10, 2018 / 15:02:53 GMT/Zulu time
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Aug 30, 2016
Classification
Incident
Airline
Jet Airways
Flight number
9W-117
Departure
London Heathrow, United Kingdom
Destination
Mumbai, India
Aircraft Registration
VT-JEK
Aircraft Type
Boeing 777-300
ICAO Type Designator
B773
However, local residents complained to police about a low flying aircraft, that had barely cleared the aerodrome perimeter fence. Police contacted Air Traffic Control at Heathrow Airport, who identified the aircraft and notified United Kingdom's AAIB. The AAIB opened an investigation into the occurrence and informed India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), who suspended both captain and first officer of the flight pending the investigation.
The airline reported there had been no injuries and no damage, the airline however investigates the occurrence as part of their active safety management, too. The aircraft performed an intersection departure, thus not using the full runway length, however, did not climb to required height in time and crossed the airport perimeter wall and traffic on the road just past the wall at very low height.
On Aug 10th 2018 India's AAIB released their final report stating the aircraft had crossed the airport boundary at 13 feet AGL and an adjacent road at 30 feet AGL (according to the airport's noise monitoring systems) and concluding the probable cause of the serious incident was:
Wrong selection of aircraft take- off performance by the Commander despite the Co-pilot selecting the right take-off performance initially but the commander overruled her take-off performance selection.
Contributory Factor
The first time initiation of SW4 intersection departure by the crew (both Commander andCo-pilot).
The AAIB reported two NOTAMs were in effect indicating taxiway S east of taxiway V was unavailable effectively closing the entry taxiways S1-S3, however, taxiway S4 was available for line up. In addition, if the aircraft needed a full length takeoff, they could have crossed runway 27L and taxied via the northern taxiways to the entry taxiways NB1, N2E, N2W or N3. The crew declined the offer of a full length takeoff and advised departure from S4 was acceptable.
The aircraft was departing with a gross mass of 296,885 kg, which was below the maximum takeoff mass of 318,646 kg for departure from S4 intersection, the departure thus was not performance limited. After receiving the final load sheet both flight crew ran their takeoff performance computations independently. The captain (45, ATPL, 13,436 hours, 943 hours on type) selected "First 4" into the option for the intersection, the first officer (32, CPL, 2,446 hours total, 1,198 hours on type) selected "SW4" into the option. When the crew compared their results, the first officer changed her intersection options to "First 4", too.
When the option "First 4" was selected, despite it's suggestion the performance would be computed for the 4th intersection, the default output of the program (with the other results upon selection) indicated the performance of a full length takeoff with a takeoff distance available of 3,349 meters/10985 feet whereas only 2,589 meters/8492 feet were available from intersection S4 (Editorial note: the report does not mention the correct takeoff performance data). The crew therefore used an assumed temperature of 45 degrees for a de-rated takeoff about 10% below available takeoff thrust. Computed V1 was 163 KIAS, Vr 167 KIAS and V2 171 KIAS.
According to analysis by Boeing based on the quick access recorder (QAR) the takeoff rotation commenced 556 meters/1823 feet before the runway end, the aircraft became airborne 97 meters/318 feet before the runway end, crossed the runway end at 16 feet radalt and crossed the perimeter road at 112 feet radalt.
The AAIB analysed that based on the selected V1 the required field length would have been 11,000 feet, with an all engine operating distance to liftoff of 7393 feet and an engine out liftoff distance of 9828 feet, while only 7715 feet were available. The AAIB wrote: "To meet the required runway field length for dispatch, the takeoff run should have started no farther than approximately 1001 feet from the runway threshold. The airplane did not meet the 35 feet screen height requirement when crossing the end of the runway and would not have had enough runway distance available to perform a rejected takeoff (RTO)."
With respect to the takeoff performance computations the AAIB analysed:
Company SOPs separated the calculation of aircraft takeoff performance into two discrete procedures without an explicit check that data entered during the first procedure (the departure briefing) was still valid and appropriate during the second (after receipt of the load sheet). The operator confirmed that, after the crew selected FIRST 4 on the OPT, although four performance solutions were available corresponding to the first four intersections, the default output was used to programme the CDU for departure. The default output provided performance information for a departure from N1 (Runway 27L full length).The operator reviewed its SOPs and concluded that they did not trap data input errors e.g. using the incorrect runway intersection or environmental conditions, or selecting the incorrect thrust de-rate. It issued SOP Revision 1 on 1st September 2016 to address these deficiencies.
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Aug 30, 2016
Classification
Incident
Airline
Jet Airways
Flight number
9W-117
Departure
London Heathrow, United Kingdom
Destination
Mumbai, India
Aircraft Registration
VT-JEK
Aircraft Type
Boeing 777-300
ICAO Type Designator
B773
This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
Article source
You can read 2 more free articles without a subscription.
Subscribe now and continue reading without any limits!
Read unlimited articles and receive our daily update briefing. Gain better insights into what is happening in commercial aviation safety.
Send tip
Support AeroInside by sending a small tip amount.
Related articles
Jet Airways B773 at Amsterdam on Apr 21st 2017, tailstrike on departure
A Jet Airways Boeing 777-300, registration VT-JEW performing flight 9W-234 from Amsterdam (Netherlands) to Toronto,ON (Canada) with 343 passengers…
Jet Airways B738 enroute on Oct 14th 2011, unqualified pilot monitoring
A Jet Airways Boeing 737-800, registration VT-JGK performing flight 9W-481 from Mumbai to Chennai (India), had been dispatched with a captain (35,…
Jet Airways B738 at Riyadh on Aug 3rd 2018, rejected takeoff from taxiway results in taxiway excursion
A Jet Airways Boeing 737-800, registration VT-JFS performing flight 9W-523 from Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) to Mumbai (India) with 144 passengers and 7…
Jet Airways AT72 at Indore on Dec 6th 2018, engine fire
A Jet Airways Avions de Transport Regional ATR-72-212A, registration VT-JCN performing flight 9W-794 from Indore to Delhi (India), was climbing…
Jet Airways B738 at Goa on Dec 27th 2016, runway excursion during rejected takeoff
A Jet Airways Boeing 737-800, registration VT-JBG performing flight 9W-2374 from Goa to Mumbai (India) with 154 passengers and 7 crew, backtracked…
Newest articles
Algerie B738 at Oran on Mar 27th 2024, cracked window
An Air Algerie Boeing 737-800, registration 7T-VJK performing flight AH-1084 from Oran (Algerie) to Paris Charles de Gaulle (France), was enroute at…
Delta BCS3 at Seattle on Mar 27th 2024, brakes failure
A Delta Airlines Bombardies C-Series CS-300, registration N301DU performing flight DL-829 from Anchorage,AK to Seattle,WA (USA), was on final…
Subscribe today
Are you researching aviation incidents? Get access to AeroInside Insights, unlimited read access and receive the daily newsletter.
Pick your plan and subscribePartner
A new way to document and demonstrate airworthiness compliance and aircraft value. Find out more.
ELITE Simulation Solutions is a leading global provider of Flight Simulation Training Devices, IFR training software as well as flight controls and related services. Find out more.
Your regulation partner, specialists in aviation safety and compliance; providing training, auditing, and consultancy services. Find out more.
AeroInside Blog
Popular aircraft
Airbus A320Boeing 737-800
Boeing 737-800 MAX
Popular airlines
American AirlinesUnited
Delta
Air Canada
Lufthansa
British Airways