Cathay flight aborted New York landing
Crew made 'some procedural and technique errors' on approach to JFK Airport
by John Carney, South China Morning Post Jul 25, 2010
An investigation is under way after a Cathay Pacific (SEHK: 0293) flight from Hong Kong had to abort a landing approach at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Flight CX840, which was under the command of a senior training captain at the end of a 16-hour flight, got into difficulties as it tried to land on May 31 with 305 passengers and crew on board.
Cathay aircrew general manager and director-designate of flight operations, Captain Richard Hall, said the crew of the Boeing 777 had made "some procedural and technique errors" and had to conduct a "go-around" - the industry term for when an aircraft aborts a landing, circles around and then comes in to land again.
At no time were the passengers or crew in any danger, he said.
"When the crew recognised that they had not met the company's stabilised approach criteria, they appropriately discontinued the approach in a regularly trained manoeuvre called a go-around," Hall said.
An industry insider who is aware of the incident says the number of time zones through which a long flight passes, and a crew's irregular sleep during the rest periods on a flight, can lead to fatigue among long-haul pilots.
"The fact that pilots face their toughest challenges at the end of a flight during the approach and landing phase heightens the dangers involved," the insider said.
"Bad weather, air traffic congestion or complicated local flight paths all add to the stress. It's an exacting test of a pilot's physical and mental resolve, just at a time when their physical and mental resources are at their lowest. That the air traffic around JFK Airport is notoriously congested makes life even more difficult for pilots who are arriving after long-haul flights."
Hall said Cathay has "stringent safety standards for approaches" and denied fatigue had anything to do with the incident, saying that both the operating and relief crews on CX840 took turns to rest in the aircraft bunks as required by the company's flight time limitations scheme (FTL).
"The FTL is designed to avoid fatigue. The FTL is approved by the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department, and is in line with industry-best practice," he said. "The scheme addresses all fatigue-related matters, such as maximum duty times as well as mandatory rest periods between long-haul flights, maximum number of flying hours et cetera."
Hall also defended the decision not to make a public announcement about the incident afterwards, saying: "The approach and landing proceeded as normal after the go-around and the flight landed on time, and at no time was there any danger to passengers or crew."
Cathay Pacific emphasised that it had an "open and honest" reporting culture. The crew immediately reported the incident to its corporate safety department. The matter was also reported to the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) in line with regulatory requirements.
The incident was the subject of chatter among the Hong Kong's airline fraternity. On the Professional Pilots Rumour Network website, one thread is headed: "Why does the thread on the B777 in JFK keep disappearing?"
One blogger wrote: "God knows the mistakes of the Airbus [sic] there received a good airing; from what I have heard this was so close to a disaster that it's not funny."
Another wrote: "The senior training captain involved was very experienced on the 777. There is only one reason for this incident, it starts with fatigue and ends in fatigue. CAD and the FAA [US Federal Aviation Administration] take note. We are humans not robots."