Ryanair flight came seconds away from smashing into helicopter after autopilot blunder, report reveals
A Ryanair flight carrying 172 passengers came within seconds of colliding with a helicopter after its captain took control without realising the autopilot was off, an investigation has found.
The Boeing 737 plummeted approximately 550ft during the incident near Stansted Airport in March last year.
The near miss occurred as the plane was making its final approach to Stansted at 3,000ft, according to investigators.
Its inexperienced co-pilot handed control to the captain – who was unaware that both autopilot and autothrust were not engaged.
This lack of awareness caused the Boeing 737 to drop dramatically – while a helicopter was flying nearby.
The Ryanair flight from Szczecin, Poland, came within just 300ft of the rotorcraft.
The captain quickly seized back control and climbed to safety before landing successfully.
“The co-pilot said that this was his first time he had handed over control during manual flight and he did not know the precise call-outs that were stated in the Flight Crew Operating Manual,” the investigation report stated.
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The report added: “Whilst he did not highlight the fact he was manually flying, he assumed the commander realised this.”
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch report noted there was no formal reply procedure in the manual for such handovers.
However, investigators pointed out: “It is common practice in all areas of aviation, to say: ‘I have control’ once the transfer is made”.
Following the incident, Ryanair has taken steps to improve safety procedures.
The airline’s manual has now been expanded to ensure a positive reply during control handovers in a bid to prevent similar miscommunications between pilots in the future.
The incident has drawn comparisons to a deadly crash in Washington DC in January this year – where an airliner and a US Army helicopter collided mid-air, killing 67 people.
Footage from the Kennedy Center in Washington showed a fiery explosion over the Potomac River before the plane tumbled into the water.
Air traffic control recordings appeared to capture the final attempted communications with the helicopter, call sign PAT25, before it smashed into the plane, call sign CRJ.
“PAT25, do you have a CRJ in sight? PAT25, pass behind the CRJ,” an air traffic controller said, before another aircraft called in to air traffic control, saying: “Tower, did you see that?”