BBC News, Southeast
nutThe plane had halted takeoff on the Gatwick runway after the co-pilot was confused left and right of him, investigators found.
The Air Actidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said the error led to the aircraft's brakes getting fired.
The June 28 incident – including a British Airways flight to Vancouver, Canada – led to a 50-minute runway closure at West Sussex Airport and 23 cancelled departures.
A British Airways spokesperson said, “Safety has always been our number one priority and our pilots have led the aircraft to a safe stop.”
Gatwick Airport said it would not comment.
AAIB reports that 13 crew members and 334 passengers were on board during the incident.
Investigators said the co-pilot moved the lever to the left while he was supposed to move the lever to the right instead.
This reduced the thrust on the Boeing 777 when the plane's commanders called on the plane to start pulling up.
Research shows that the co-pilot was once again “temporarily” revived before abandoning takeoff.
The plane “stopped distance before the end of the runway,” but airport firefighters were called to put out the fire on the landing gear on the right.
No injuries have been reported.
The co-pilot was accidentally surprised
The AAIB said British Airways analysis of the event showed that the morning was “unremarkable” and there were no obvious distractions or workload issues prior to the fire.
According to the report, the co-pilot, who had more than 6,100 hours of flight experience, expressed his surprise at the mistake and “we were unable to determine why.”
He last flew two weeks before the incident.
British Airways had issued safety notices reminding pilots to “pause before execution and cognitively consider what the required lawsuit is.”
The agency added that the airline had included “misconceptions” in the new “Safety Topics” section of its pre-flight briefing material for its crew, promoting focus during pilots' regular simulator training.
