Jetstar Airbus A320 flew below safe altitude, safety report finds
A Jetstar A320 with 134 people on board flew below a minimum safe altitude on approach to Christchurch, an accident investigation has found. Although the plane landed safely it was found the crew did not maintain "adequate situational awareness" of the plane's location in relation to the standard arrival path, the Transport Accident Investigation Commission found. Jetstar's procedures have been identified as inappropriate. "The operator's procedures did not encourage the appropriate use of the aeroplane's automated navigation systems," the report says. Pilots elected to use an "open descent" procedure rather than the available, fully automated "managed descent" mode. By not setting the flight control unit to the next altitude restriction, a higher level of human intervention was required to keep the aeroplane within permissible limits on the arrival route. An air traffic controller didn't follow procedures either. During the incident on August 6, 2017, the flight from Wellington to Christchurch inadvertently descended below the 2500ft (760m) minimum safe altitude for part of the arrival procedure. The commission says that as a result of the safety actions taken by the operator, no new recommendations were identified.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2019-05-02/unaligned/jetstar-airbus-a320-flew-below-safe-altitude-safety-report-finds
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Jetstar Airbus A320 flew below safe altitude, safety report finds
A Jetstar A320 with 134 people on board flew below a minimum safe altitude on approach to Christchurch, an accident investigation has found. Although the plane landed safely it was found the crew did not maintain "adequate situational awareness" of the plane's location in relation to the standard arrival path, the Transport Accident Investigation Commission found. Jetstar's procedures have been identified as inappropriate. "The operator's procedures did not encourage the appropriate use of the aeroplane's automated navigation systems," the report says. Pilots elected to use an "open descent" procedure rather than the available, fully automated "managed descent" mode. By not setting the flight control unit to the next altitude restriction, a higher level of human intervention was required to keep the aeroplane within permissible limits on the arrival route. An air traffic controller didn't follow procedures either. During the incident on August 6, 2017, the flight from Wellington to Christchurch inadvertently descended below the 2500ft (760m) minimum safe altitude for part of the arrival procedure. The commission says that as a result of the safety actions taken by the operator, no new recommendations were identified.<br/>
