[www.independent.co.uk]

The Boeing aircraft, operated by TUI, departed from Bristol Airport for Las Palmas, Gran Canaria on 9 March with 163 passengers on board when it struggled to take off.

The 737-800 plane cleared runway nine with just 260 metres (853ft) of tarmac to spare at a height of 10ft.

It then flew over the nearby A38 road at a height of just 30 metres (100ft) travelling at the speed of around 150kts (about 173mph).

The A38 is a major A-class busy road, connecting South West England with the Midlands and the north.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), part of the Department for Transport, said the incident was the result of insufficient thrust being used during take-off...

“A Boeing 737-800 completed a takeoff from Runway 09 at Bristol Airport with insufficient thrust to meet regulated performance,” the AAIB report said.

“The autothrottle (A/T) disengaged when the takeoff mode was selected, at the start of the takeoff roll, and subsequently the thrust manually set by the crew (84.5% N1 ) was less than the required takeoff thrust (92.8% N1 ).

“Neither pilot then noticed that the thrust was set incorrectly, and it was not picked up through the standard operating procedures (SOPs).”...

The autothrottle system on a Boeing 737-800 can control the thrust from takeoff to landing, the AAIB added.

Boeing told investigators looking into the incident that they were aware of a “long history of nuisance disconnects during takeoff mode engagements”.

Just a "nuisance."

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Pilot error.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

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Speedy
Pilot error.

You mean the pilot made an error choosing to fly a Boeing plane?

Neither pilot then noticed that the thrust was set incorrectly


Was this something the pilots could and should have noticed?

Certainly at some point one or both of them should have thought 'we're a little low...'

Maybe they did and didn't know why at that point.



it was not picked up through the standard operating procedures (SOPs)


Was this something that could or should have been discovered through SOPs?

If there's any possible chance, Boeing will pass these 'nuisances' off as something that could have 'easily been avoided because we sent an email' if the pilots were familiar with the possibility of the pesky disengagements or paying attention during take off.

Similarly (or maybe not?) if a course or heading were set in autopilot but it disengaged, shouldn't pilots or the navigator notice at some point?

Did they trust tech more than they should have or is it not possible for the crew to known why their roll was slowed at that point in time.

I'd not have a lot of confidence if I found my flight were to be on a Boeing aircraft.

That might not be reasonable, but that's where I am in this.

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I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

God forbid that when the automation fails, that we would actually have to fly the aircraft.
When the auto throttles disengaged, the crew would have been warned.

God forbid that when the automation fails, that we would actually have to fly the aircraft.censored smiley
When the auto throttles disengaged, the crew would have been warned.

Bingo.

This makes me think of many of the Tesla crashes where much/most of the blame is heaped on the tech with little emphasis placed on the drivers' responsibility to drive.

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I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

A failure on an aircraft that has been in service is not necessarily the fault of the manufacturer. Aircraft require maintenance and inspection. If the operator isn't doing so properly, stuff will happen. The crew might not be properly trained as neither of them reacted to a problem.

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flareslow
God forbid that when the automation fails, that we would actually have to fly the aircraft...

On a cynical side: I foresee much more of these kinds of events happening, both because of more flaws creeping into equipment (the mentality that appears to have taken over at Boeing is not just isolated to them (IMHO)), and as the people who are operating equipment come from newer generations (who, also IMHO, trust too much that stuff will just work - and subsequently are unprepared for when it doesn't).

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RAMd®d
Neither pilot then noticed that the thrust was set incorrectly


Was this something the pilots could and should have noticed?

Maybe, but there’s apparently no warning light for when the autothrottle turns itself off.

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Maybe they should put windows where the pilots sit and then they could see that they’re only six feet off the ground when they should be standing on their tail.

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PeterW
Maybe they should put windows where the pilots sit and then they could see that they’re only six feet off the ground when they should be standing on their tail.

Ja. There can be a window for ze occupant … I’m mean pilot.

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Embarassing myself on the Internet since 1978.

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Tiangou

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RAMd®d
Neither pilot then noticed that the thrust was set incorrectly


Was this something the pilots could and should have noticed?

Maybe, but there’s apparently no warning light for when the autothrottle turns itself off.

I think there’s at least an audible warning.

The problem with the rate of Boeing is that the engineer/programmer who wrote the original code is likely long since gone - another project, or left the company.

So every single issue will take forever to fix.

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sekker
The problem with the rate of Boeing is that the engineer/programmer who wrote the original code is likely long since gone - another project, or left the company.

So every single issue will take forever to fix.

Isn't that a built in problem with virtually every high tech company, especially with innovators.

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RgrF

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sekker
The problem with the rate of Boeing is that the engineer/programmer who wrote the original code is likely long since gone - another project, or left the company.

So every single issue will take forever to fix.

Isn't that a built in problem with virtually every high tech company, especially with innovators.

It's compounded here because they outsourced their coding to India and much of it is undocumented spaghetti.

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