A TUI holiday jet with 178 passengers and eight crew on board was forced to return to Manchester Airport after the plane's tail struck the runway on take-off, a report reveals.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report revealed a trainee co-pilot 'rotated the aircraft too rapidly'. It said he 'experienced several delays during his training, which would have made it harder to learn the correct technique' - said to have been down to 'public health restrictions' as part of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cabin crew reported hearing 'a very big bang' and the flight to Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands returned immediately to the airport in March. The Boing 737 - which was being flown by the co-pilot at the time as part of a 'training flight' - touched down without event, said the now-published report.
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It stopped on the runway and was met by the airport's fire service, but taxied to stand 'without further incident'. The incident caused 'minor damage to the tail skid'.
The report said start-up and taxi to the runway were uneventful and after discussion about take-off, the commander handed control to the co-pilot. After some issues with the rotation speed in gusty winds, the co-pilot struggled to control the aircraft drift and the tail struck the runway.
The report said: "Both pilots felt a bump as it did so. The pilots continued the take-off and followed their cleared departure routing. There were no adverse indications, and the aircraft was flying normally.
"Initially the commander intentionally left the landing gear extended to focus on the flight path, but then omitted to retract it until after the flaps were retracted. Once established in the climb the commander contacted the cabin crew to confirm if they had heard anything abnormal on the take off. The cabin crew at the back of the aircraft confirmed they had heard 'a very big bang' on take off."
Air traffic control at Manchester was alerted of the suspected tail strike and told the plane would be returning to land 'overweight'. "The commander briefed the cabin crew for a precautionary landing and made an announcement to the passengers," said the report.
"Once they had completed their briefing the flight crew commenced an approach back to Runway 23R at Manchester. The commander elected to be pilot flying. The subsequent approach and landing were uneventful."
The report said: "On take-off, during a line training flight, the trainee co-pilot rotated the aircraft too rapidly causing the aircraft’s tail to strike the runway.
"The trainee had experienced disjointed training due to public health restrictions, which is likely to have made it harder to learn and retain the correct take-off technique. During his first few sectors on the aircraft, it had been noted that his rotation rate was slightly slow, and he was allowing the rotation to stagnate.
"It is likely that trying to correct these issues contributed to the rapid rotation rate. The crosswind on the take-off might have further added to co-pilot's workload."
The AAIB's investigation said the co-pilot's disrupted training and low experience may have contributed to what happened. He joined the operator in 2019 after obtaining his commercial pilot's licence. He completed a jet orientation course followed by a type rating course with a third-party training organisation. He completed an operator conversion course in March 2020, but his training was then interrupted by public health restrictions associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, adds the report.
In a statement, TUI 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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