A jumbo jet that spent several minutes with its autopilot system unwittingly “disconnected” was just seconds from disaster, according to an airline inquiry.
According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, the Cathay Pacific Boeing 747 flew uncontrolled for three minutes, heading some 180 degrees off course and heading towards mountains.
It was reported to be “just seconds” from a catastrophic stall.
The newspaper reports that no-one took any action because they believed the captain was in charge, and because they thought any unusual movements taking place were due to fierce downdraughts called windshears, which are common in the region.
The aircraft, which was flying from London to Hong Kong with some 350 people on board, ended up “perilously close” to a mountain on the nearby island of Lantau.
Most passengers did not realise how close to disaster the plane had come, according to the Telegraph.
The newspaper says many senior pilots are “angered” by Cathay’s “low-key” reaction to what has happened.
It quotes one unnamed pilot as saying: “This was an extremely serious incident. Yet flight crew need to learn the lessons in case a similar situation arose. The fact we don’t know exactly what happened makes it more likely that a repeat could occur.”
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd
