UK investigators have retrieved flight data from an Iranian-operated Airbus A310-300 after it descended far below the glideslope while making a non-precision approach to Birmingham Airport in the UK.
The aircraft, operated by Tehran-based Mahan Air and registered F-OJHI, was arriving from the Iranian capital at around 12:15 on 23 February. During a non-precision approach to runway 33, the A310 descended below the glidepath and was instructed to go around. It landed safely after a second approach.
Sources familiar with the incident indicate that the aircraft reached a height of around 600ft (180m) by the time it overflew the district of Honiley, southwest of Coventry and about 7nm (13km) from Birmingham Airport. Landing aircraft following a 3° glideslope would typically be at a height of about 2,200ft at this distance from the runway.
“This incident is now a matter of a full investigation,” says UK airspace authority National Air Traffic Services.
DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW / LONDON
Source: Flight International
