An investigation into a major plane incident at Aberdeen Airport last year has concluded the lack of flying hours for pilots and crew caused by the pandemic is to blame for one of the reasons the flight ran into problems.
The flight from Palma to Aberdeen rapidly descended following an aborted landing on September 12, 2021, Aberdeen Live reports.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has now conducted an investigation into the incident on Boeing 737-800 G-FDZF, which is currently operated by TUI.
The plane underwent a manually flown 'go-around' after an attempted landing, which had to be cancelled due to the presence of a search and rescue helicopter.
This was initiated at 2,250 ft above mean sea level, but just before it reached a cleared altitude of 3,000 ft, the plane began to descend, dropping to just 1,780 ft.
The crew eventually corrected the flight path after the vehicle had descended for a total of 57 seconds.
All of the 67 passengers and six crew on board at the time of the incident, which was likely caused by a number of factors, such as unexpectedly high thrust, were unharmed.
The report also states that both pilots of the plane had not flown the aircraft type in some time due to the covid pandemic.
Two engine go-arounds in day-to-day flight operations are rare and the report states that It was unlikely that either crew member had conducted one in the aircraft in the previous two years.
In addition the aircraft's Terrain Avoidance and Warning System and the ATC radar system alerts failed to notify the crew of the descent, who acted to correct the flight path as soon as it was noticed.
As a result, Aberdeen's Air Traffic Control changed their procedures for aircraft being broken off from the approach, while the aircraft manufacturer issued extra guidance to pilots.
The AAIB's report stated: "Whilst the go-around should have presented little problem to the experienced crew, the combination of less than average flying in the recent period (and very little flying in the case of the co-pilot), the unexpected large increase in thrust and the changes in heading given by ATC probably combined to overload the crew. Subsequently, they were unable to retain their situational awareness.
It concluded: "The crew of G-FDZF were instructed to go-around by ATC. After initially climbing towards the miss approach altitude, the aircraft began to descend. The descent continued for 57 seconds reaching a minimum of 1,565 ft agl before the aircraft was recovered to a climb.
"A combination of an unexpected large increase in thrust when the go-around was initiated, instructions from ATC to fly a heading, a lack of manual pitch trimming, and the changes in the flap configuration, caused the crew to become overloaded, allowing the aircraft to descend unnoticed for a significant period. Both pilots had experienced significant periods away from flying the aircraft type during the pandemic."
A TUI spokesperson said: "We have worked closely with the AAIB throughout this investigation. We can confirm we have adopted all recommendations and learnings from the report alongside air traffic control and the aircraft manufacturer, which are now also binding for all other operators and partners.
"The health and safety of our customers and colleagues is always our number one priority and we would like to provide reassurance that the safety of the aircraft was assured throughout this flight.
"We have always provided training that exceeds all regulatory requirements, and this also includes the additional refresher and recency training completed by all pilots prior to flights being undertaken post Covid."
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