Pilots distracted by phone texts
An airline has introduced new safeguards after an investigation found a landing had to be aborted because the pilot was distracted by his mobile phone.
Qantas’ low-cost airline Jetstar has made changes to its landing procedures following the incident at Singapore Changi in May 2010.
According to reports in the Australian press, pilots forgot to lower the wheels just 150 metres above the ground when the captain became distracted by text messages beeping on his mobile phone.
The findings about the incident were released this week in a report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
It found the pilot was trying to unlock and turn off his mobile phone, which he had forgotten to turn off and which had started beeping text messages as the aircraft approached the airport.
Speculation at the time of the incident suggested the pilot had been sending texts from his phone during a crucial part of the landing procedure.
The report said records showed there were no texts sent or answered by the captain during the approach, but it noted that the captain had erased messages by the time he was interviewed.
Jetstar has since made the incident a case study in its pilot training.
It has also changed its takeoff checklist so that pilots are reminded to ensure their mobile phones are switched off and has increased the mandatory distance for the landing checklist to be completed from 500 feet above the airport to 1000 feet
Despite the incident, the Transport Safety Board made no findings against Jetstar or its procedures.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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