B738, en-route, west of Canberra Australia, 2017

B738, en-route, west of Canberra Australia, 2017

Summary

On 13 March 2017, the crew of a Boeing 737-800 responded to an increase in indicated airspeed towards Vmo after changing the FMS mode during a high speed descent in a way that more abruptly disconnected the autopilot than they were anticipating which resulted in significant injuries to two of the cabin crew. The Investigation found that the operator s customary crew response to an overspeed risk at the airline concerned was undocumented in either airline or aircraft manufacturer procedures and had not been considered when an autopilot modification had been designed and implemented.

Description

On 13 March 2017, a Boeing 737-800 (VH-VZZ) being operated by Qantas on a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Perth to Canberra was subjected to an upset which resulted in significant injury to two of the cabin crew after the flight crew responded to an increase in indicated airspeed during descent at night through FL 220. None of the 177 passengers were injured.

Investigation

An Investigation was carried out by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) with recorded flight data from the aircraft involved available. It was noted that the First Officer had been acting as PF for the incident sector.

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