Pilot error leads to blaze on British Airways flight at Gatwick

On June 28, a British Airways flight to Vancouver, Canada, encountered a significant incident during its take-off from Gatwick Airport in the UK. Investigators from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) reported that the flight's co-pilot mistakenly confused his left and right hands, resulting in the plane's brakes catching fire after an aborted take-off. With a total of 334 passengers and a 13-person crew on board, this serious error led to a 50-minute closure of the runway and a total of 23 cancelled departures at the airport. The AAIB investigation revealed that the co-pilot unintentionally moved a lever to the left instead of to the right at a critical moment when the aircraft was about to ascend. At this time, the pilot had already commanded the aircraft to pull up. Compounding the situation, the co-pilot temporarily increased the thrust again before deciding to halt the take-off. The aircraft managed to stop safely some distance before reaching the end of the runway, but emergency services were deployed to extinguish the fire that had developed in the right-hand landing gear. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported among the passengers or crew members aboard the flight. In response to the incident, the British Airways spokesperson emphasized the importance of safety, highlighting that the pilots managed to bring the aircraft to a safe stop during this alarming situation. The event gained attention particularly since the co-pilot had extensive flying experience, logging over 6,100 hours in the air. In immediate aftermath investigations, British Airways conducted an analysis of the incident, which suggested no apparent distractions or overload issues for the co-pilot leading up to the fire. The co-pilot expressed surprise at the error and was unable to pinpoint a specific reason behind it, as he had last piloted an aircraft just two weeks prior. Following the incident, British Airways reiterated safety protocols by issuing a safety notice just four days before the event and has since included discussions of 'mis-selections' in their safety training meetings for flight crews. The airline aims to enhance focus and cognitive consideration for pilots during critical moments of flight operations.