Effective scan could stop inadvertent go-around escalation: FAA

US authorities are stressing the importance of proper instrument cross-checks on Boeing 757s and 767s to prevent escalation of incidents caused by inadvertent activation of go-around mode on the types. The warning follows the fatal accident involving an Atlas Air 767 freighter on approach to Houston in February 2019, the inquiry into which concluded that the first officer inadvertently nudged a go-around switch, and then over-reacted to the aircraft’s increase in thrust by pitching it sharply nose-down. “With an effective instrument scan the [pilots] could have recognised the mode change associated with the go-around mode activation,” says the US FAA in a newly-issued safety bulletin to operators. Despite cues from the flight-mode annunciator and other indications, neither pilot was aware of the change in the aircraft’s automated mode and flightpath. The crew did not recover the 767 from the dive and it crashed in Trinity Bay. On the 757 and 767 the go-around mode is armed when the aircraft’s flaps or slats are extended, or when the glideslope is in the active pitch mode. This allows either pilot to activate go-around by pushing a switch located on either thrust lever. Story has more.<br/>