Description

An Airbus A320-200 being operated by British Airways on a scheduled passenger flight from London Heathrow to Glasgow was being radar vectored in day Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) towards an ILS approach to runway 23 at destination when an Terrain Avoidance and Warning System (TAWS) Mode 2 Hard Warning was received and the prescribed response promptly initiated by the flight crew with a climb to Minimum Sector Altitude.

Investigation

A Field Investigation was carried out by the UK AAIB. It found that the radar controller had wrongly believed that they had given a new heading as closing heading to the ILS LLZ when in fact this had not occurred. Focus on other traffic meant that the controller did not notice that MSA was being breached because of the unintended track.

The prompt response of the crew to the Terrain Proximity Warning resulted in the closest terrain being at 959 ft below the aircraft although it was noted that the presence of a ridge of high ground nearby could have easily reduced this clearance considerably and that the rate of terrain closure at the time the warning was generated was 6000ft per minute.

The Investigation also found that as the aircraft was being vectored for a second - and ultimately uneventful - capture of the ILS LLZ, there had been a further breach of MSA attributable to ATC Instructions in a position where the aircraft was beyond the approach plate being used by the flight crew for reference but that, in this second case, the aircraft had remained ‘terrain safe’