AAIB investigation to Boeing 737-8200, EI-HGG
Level bust after a go-around, London Stansted Airport, 8 March 2024
After a manually flown go-around and missed approach procedure, the co-pilot handed control to the commander to allow the co-pilot to set up the Flight Management Computer for the next approach. However, the commander did not realise that the autopilot and autothrust were not engaged. The aircraft subsequently started a descent which was not noticed by either member of the crew. The aircraft descended about 550 ft before this was noticed and action taken to correct it. As this was more than 200 ft from the aircraft’s cleared altitude, this was classified as a level bust. This was a result of an incorrect procedure being used during the handover of control and the commander monitoring the co-pilot’s actions, rather than the aircraft.
The circumstances surrounding the occurrence did not fall within the definitions of an accident or serious incident as defined in ICAO Annex 13, however, the Chief Inspector, in exercise of his powers under the Civil Aviation (Investigation of Air Accidents and Incidents) Regulations 2018, initiated an investigation, treating the occurrence as an incident to highlight the safety benefits from the safety actions taken by the operator by amending its handover procedure in its operating manual.
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