A Ryanair flight carrying 171 passengers declared a 'MAYDAY' alert over low fuel before landing at Manchester Airport, after three failed landing attempts at two other airports, according to a newly published report.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) published its report into the incident, which it described as 'serious'. The flight, affected by Storm Amy last October, eventually landed at Manchester with a fuel quantity 'significantly below the final reserve fuel', the report said.
According to the findings, the pilots became 'increasingly concerned' about their remaining fuel as the flight progressed. Following the third unsuccessful landing attempt, they declared: 'MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY FUEL' to air traffic control and requested an immediate diversion to Manchester.
Three aborted landings
The Boeing 737-800 plane, with six crew also on board, was on a scheduled flight from Pisa International Airport in Italy to Glasgow Prestwick Airport on a day when 'significant winds had been forecast' due to Storm Amy. Extra fuel was pumped into the plane as a result.
The plane twice tried to land at Prestwick but two 'windshear escape manoeuvres' led to the pilots carrying out go-arounds. A go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft on final approach, or one which has already touched down. It is a standard procedure to take a plane around for another attempt at approaching a runway, often forced by a late, sudden gust of wind.
Following the two go-arounds, the crew requested a diversion to Manchester Airport but it 'was not accepted'. The plane then diverted to Edinburgh Airport, but the pilot again could not land and reported a 'further windshear escape manoeuvre'. The emergency was then declared, and the plane was flown to Manchester, where it landed safely but seriously low on fuel.
Breakdown of communication
The report states: "There was no further discussion by the pilots about the expected fuel remaining on arrival at Manchester, except that they realised they would not have enough fuel for another go-around."
Investigators said a 'breakdown of communication' within Manchester Airport led to the first diversion request being refused. The AAIB concluded: "Although the airport and handling agent policies at Manchester meant that the diversion should have been accepted, a breakdown of communication within the airport led to it being refused."
The report adds: "The aircraft diverted instead to Edinburgh, where the crew was required to perform another windshear escape manoeuvre."
The pilots were concerned that remaining at Edinburgh could mean they had no option other than to fly through a windshear warning while on approach due to their low fuel state and wind conditions. They calculated that diverting to Manchester would result in landing with between 500 and 700kg of fuel, and the flight management system calculated the expected arrival fuel to be 300kg. Both calculations meant the aircraft would land below the final reserve fuel of 1,100 kg, but the commander considered the safest option was to divert to Manchester, where the aircraft landed with 363kg.
The report says the pilots were 'increasingly concerned about the decreasing fuel situation' and 'seemed convinced that they would get another windshear warning at Edinburgh'.
The flight, FR3418, departed from Pisa Airport at 3.28pm on October 3 last year and landed at Manchester at 7.52pm. Storm Amy had brought high winds and weather warnings to northern and western Europe at the time.
Manchester Airport said it noted the contents of the report and was evaluating its contents. Ryanair was approached for comment.
