| (http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/04/19/article-2132132-02EEEA1E0000044D-816_468x286.jpg) | Got to go, landing a plane: Passenger jet pilots had to abort touch-down because captain was distracted by mobile phone. The pilots of an international flight forgot to lower the landing gear and had to abort touch-down at just 500ft because the captain was distracted by his mobile phone, air safety investigators have found. Australian Jetstar flight JQ57 was making its approach to Singapore's Changi International Airport on May 27, 2010 and was less than 2,500 feet above the tarmac when the captain's mobile phone messaging alert sounded. The first officer twice tried to get the captain's attention to set a 'missed-approach altitude' and when he looked over noticed the 'captain was preoccupied with his mobile phone,' an official report into the incident said. The captain, who had more than 13,400 hours' flying experience, said he was in the process of unlocking and turning off his mobile phone and had not noticed his first officer's request. It wasn't until the plane was at 700ft that the first officer realised the landing gear was not down. But when the Airbus A321 dipped below 500ft with the landing gear still being deployed, the Ground Proximity Warning System alarm sounded and the pilots aborted the landing Now the Australian Transport Safety Board has found the pilots had failed to perform a number of tasks to prepare for landing including lowering the landing gear, completing the landing checklist, selecting auto break and checking the flight parameters. Jetstar pilots are bound by the same rules as passengers when it comes to mobile phones and they should be switched off during take off and landing and only used in 'flight mode' when at altitude. Safety investigators said phone records showed the captain did not send or answer any text messages during the approach. The use of the mobile phone was just one of several distractions that led to the missed landing, the report said. The pilots' attention was also broken by a request to slow the aircraft earlier than anticipated, a discussion by the crew of the Singapore skyline and a late detection of an auto pilot-related warning light. Despite the near miss, the Transport Safety Board made no findings against Jetstar or its procedures. The airline said it had made the flight a case study in its training manual and had added an item to pilots take-off checklist reminding them to turn off their mobile phones. 'We take a very conservative approach to how far before touchdown an aircraft should be completely configured for landing,' Jetstar chief pilot Mark Rindfleish said. 'In the case of JQ57, pilot distraction meant all the landing checklist items weren't completed before the aircraft passed an altitude of 500ft, at which point a go-around was required under our operating procedures. 'Human factors, like distraction, are why airlines have so many procedural safeguards built into how they fly. A Jetstar spokesman said the airline counselled the pilots 'on human factors that lead to distraction in the cockpit.' |
This is crazy, TEXTING while flying a f**king plane with 200+ people on board!?!?!Did you read your own linked article?
Pfft, it's illegal to use a mobile phone while flying with some mobile networks...something todo with network coverage :L