Serious incident Boeing 737-3Q8 G-THOF,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 65200
 
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Date:Sunday 23 September 2007
Time:22:50
Type:Silhouette image of generic B733 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Boeing 737-3Q8
Owner/operator:Thomsonfly
Registration: G-THOF
MSN: 26314/2707
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 137
Aircraft damage: None
Category:Serious incident
Location:Bournemouth International Airport (BOH/EGHH) -   United Kingdom
Phase: Approach
Nature:Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:Faro Airport, Algarve, Portugal (FAO/LFPR)
Destination airport:Bournemouth Airport, Hurn (BOH/EGHH)
Investigating agency: AAIB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The Boeing 737-300 was on approach to Bournemouth Airport following a routine passenger flight from Faro, Portugal. Early in the ILS approach the auto-throttle disengaged with the thrust levers in the idle thrust position. The disengagement was neither commanded nor recognised by the crew and the thrust levers remained at idle throughout the approach. Because the aircraft was fully configured for landing, the air speed decayed rapidly to a value below that appropriate for the approach. The commander took control and initiated a go-around. During the go-around the aircraft pitched up excessively; flight crew attempts to reduce the aircraft's pitch were largely ineffective. The aircraft reached a maximum pitch of 44º nose-up and the indicated airspeed reduced to 82 kt. The flight crew, however, were able to recover control of the aircraft and complete a subsequent approach and landing at Bournemouth without further incident.

Although the commander reported the event to the operator the following morning, his initial Air Safety Report (ASR) contained limited information and the seriousness of the event was not appreciated until the Quick Access Recorder (QAR) data was inspected on 4 October 2007.
G-THOF was not subjected to an engineering examination to ensure its continued airworthiness and remained in service throughout this period.

The investigation identified the following causal factors:
1. The aircraft decelerated during an instrument approach, to an airspeed significantly below the commanded speed, with the engines at idle thrust. Despite the application of full thrust, the aircraft stalled, after which the appropriate recovery actions were not followed.
2. The trimmed position of the stabiliser, combined with the selection of maximum thrust, overwhelmed the available elevator authority.
The investigation identified the following contributory factors:
1. The autothrottle warning system on the Boeing 737-300, although working as designed, did not alert the crew to the disengagement of the autothrottle system.
2. The flight crew did not recognise the disengagement of the autothrottle system and allowed the airspeed to decrease 20 kt below Vrefbefore recovery was initiated.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: AAIB
Report number: 
Status: Investigation completed
Duration:
Download report: Final report

Sources:

1. AAIB: https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/aar-3-2009-boeing-737-3q8-g-thof-23-september-2007
2. CAA: https://siteapps.caa.co.uk/g-info/rk=THOF
3. http://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-b737-26314.htm

Images:


Quick Access Recorder data depicting the incident (AAIB)

Media:

Boeing 737-3Q8 G-THOF of Thomsonfly at Bournemouth Airport 28-03-2005: Boeing 737-3Q8, Thomsonfly (Britannia Airways) AN0811622

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
27-May-2009 00:01 harro Added
14-Sep-2016 13:14 Dr.John Smith Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
26-Oct-2017 20:08 harro Updated [Location, Photo, ]

Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description

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