A British Airways flight caught fire after a pilot confused his left and right hands during take-off.
Flight BA2279 was set to depart from London Gatwick Airport to Vancouver on 28 June 2024 when the co-pilot mixed up his right hand for his left, subsequently operating the aircraft’s thrust.
A report published on Thursday by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) stated the pilot was supposed to “move his left hand during the takeoff roll, while preparing to pull back on the control column with his right hand.
“However, he unintentionally pulled his left hand back instead.”
The “action slip” led to a rejected take-off and a brake fire, and forced the pilot to perform a “high-speed emergency stop” on the runway after reaching speeds of more than 190mph.
Airport fire and rescue services attended the aircraft and extinguished the fire on the right main landing gear.
The incident also resulted in the temporary closure of Gatwick Airport’s main runway, with 16 inbound flights being diverted elsewhere and a further 23 cancelled.
None of the 347 passengers and crew on board the Boeing 777 were injured, although the incident prompted a formal investigation and report by the safety agency.
The experienced co-pilot, who had more than 6,000 flying hours under his belt, insisted he was “well-rested and feeling fine” at the time of the incident and “could not identify a reason” why the mishap occurred.
The captain stepped in to “calmly and methodically” bring the plane to a halt and alert air traffic control.
“The airport rescue and firefighting service attended the aircraft and extinguished a fire from hot brakes on the right main landing gear,” the AAIB report noted.
A spokesperson for British Airways said: “Safety is always our highest priority and our pilots brought the aircraft to a safe stop.
“We apologised to our customers and our teams worked hard to get them on their way as quickly as possible.”
