A British Airways flight leaving Gatwick Airport in London for Vancouver aborted takeoff after the co-pilot confused his left for his right, leading to a brake fire, according to a report from government investigators. The plane with nearly 350 people aboard was able to stop "some distance before the end of the runway," where airport crews put out the fire on the landing gear, the BBC reports. No one was injured in the incident last June 28. The report published Thursday by the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch found:
- The co-pilot unintentionally moved a control lever in the wrong direction, reducing thrust when the flight's commander had called for acceleration. He intended to "move his left hand during the takeoff roll, while preparing to pull back on the control column with his right hand," per the Independent. "However, he unintentionally pulled his left hand back instead," the report said.
- The co-pilot increased speed, and the plane topped 190mph on the runway. The pilot then intervened to perform a "high-speed emergency stop."
- The runway had to be closed for 50 minutes, and 23 flights were canceled.
- The co-pilot, who had logged more than 6,100 flight hours, could not explain why he made the directional mistake.
Four days earlier, British Airways had issued a safety notice recommending pilots "pause before execution and cognitively consider what the required action is," per the BBC. Since then, the airline has tweaked its preflight materials to stress to crews the importance of focusing, even during simulator training. (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)
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