According to a Bloomberg report, a shocking memo has revealed that a Southwest Boeing 737 Max, which came within 400 feet of crashing into the ocean near Hawaii in April, was likely caused by the pilot’s actions rather than a Max bug.
An internal note from Southwest Airlines that was recently sent to pilots has been obtained by Bloomberg. The letter describes a terrifying event that happened in April during an attempted landing off the coast of Hawaii: a Boeing 737 Max 8.
According to the memo, before one of the pilots was able to abruptly pull back on the yoke and send the aircraft ascending at 8,500 feet per minute, Southwest Flight 2786 descended at an unusually high rate of more than 4,000 feet per minute. When the pilot got the plane back, it was 400 feet from the ocean.
In a matter of seconds, aircraft 2786 descended from a height of roughly 1,000 feet to 400 feet above the ocean, according to data from the aircraft tracking website ADS-B Exchange. At the time of the event, the aircraft was close to Kauai’s Lihue Airport.
The incident on Flight 2786, which was previously unknown, raises more concerns about aviation safety generally and specifically about Boeing aircraft.
The memo indicates that the event was probably caused by the pilot and not a Max bug:
According to Southwest’s review, the incident occurred following an aborted landing attempt due to inclement weather that blocked the pilots from seeing the runway by a specified altitude.
The captain opted to put the “newer” first officer in command on the short flight to Lihue despite the forecasts, according to the memo.
The less-experienced first officer “inadvertently” pushed forward on the control column, then cut the speed causing the airplane to descend. Soon after, a warning system sounded alarms the jet was getting too close to the surface and the captain ordered the first officer to increase thrust. The plane then “climbed aggressively” at 8,500 feet per minute, the memo said.
-BBG
Commercial planes typically descend at a speed of 1,500 to 2,000 feet per minute during approach to provide some context for steady and controlled flight. The rate of 8,500 feet per minute is uncontrolled and extremely high.
According to Bloomberg, “That incident was investigated by both the FAA and NTSB, which found the mishap resulted from a miscommunication between the pilots on the aircraft.”
“Pitching up and pitching down with the power and close to out of control — very close,” said former commercial airline pilot and flight instructor Kit Darby. “It would feel like a roller coaster ride.”
Recently, GreatGameIndia reported that according to the Federal Aviation Administration’s notification, 300 Boeing 777s used by United and American Airlines are at risk of exploding fuel tanks.
