Chaos at the airport: Co-Pilot confuses right and left!

Chaos at the airport: Co-Pilot confuses right and left!

London Gatwick, Großbritannien - On June 28, 2024, London Gatwick Airport led to a dramatic incident that brought a British Airways flight to Vancouver to a standstill. The co-pilot, an experienced aircraft guide with over 6,100 flight hours, accidentally confused left and right, which led to a considerable chaos. This was reported by merkur Critical starting process reduced and finally initiated a start.

While the commander initiated the withdrawal process, the co-pilot accidentally withdrew the levers with its left hand instead of using the rights. This finally led to a 50-minute closure of the runway and to delete 23 flights. Firefighters were alerted to extinguish a fire on one of the rear chassis. Fortunately, there were no injuries among the 334 passengers and the 13-member crew, such as BBC supplemented.

unexplained causes and security protocols

The aircraft pilot could not state a reason for the behavior of the co-pilot and emphasized that he felt comfortable and rested. In the morning of the incident there was no unusual events or high workloads. The co-pilot had only flown two weeks earlier and was unexplained the incident, which indicates the complexity of human errors in critical situations.

To avoid such errors, it is crucial to create a work environment, minimize the risks and optimize human performance, as explained on axens . In fact, around 80 % of flight accidents are due to human failure, especially in critical phases such as the start and landing.

conclusions of the investigation

The "Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB)", which examined the incident, found that British Airways had published a security notification four days before the incident. In these materials, the crew members were asked to rethink their actions and take them carefully step by step. These recommendations illustrate the constant challenge that represent the error in air traffic and the need to integrate the human fact into the security culture of airlines.

The occasions and circumstances that led to this incident show that despite technical progress and a strict security protocol, human failure can never be completely excluded. Therefore, the training and sensitization of the crews remains of outstanding importance for ensuring flight safety.