Bristol Airport plane flew too low over road - report

The plane took off from Bristol Airport on 4 March 2024

A report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has found that a flight from Bristol Airport did not have enough thrust to safely take off.

The flight, a Boeing 737-8K5, with six crew and 163 passengers, took off on 4 March 2024 for Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.

The AAIB said neither pilot noticed the thrust was too low, and the flight left the end of the runway just 10ft (3m) off the ground.

It then flew over the A38 only 100ft (30m) above ground level, the report said.

"Both pilots had noted how close to the end of the runway they were," it added.

The AAIB said the crew mistakenly failed to set the correct amount of thrust, and that neither pilot had noticed the error.

The flight was being used a training flight for the route with a new captain, who was under supervision from a second captain, acting as aircraft commander.

The pilots did not set the correct thrust until they had flown 885ft (270m) from the end of the runway, and then flew over the A38 too low.

"It is well-known that humans are poor at detecting acceleration rates and recognising that their takeoff run is not matching the calculated performance," the report said.

"Performance issues can be insidious and invisible to the crew until very late in the takeoff," the authors concluded.

The flight landed in Las Palmas without any problems and the AAIB said it will publish a full report into the incident soon.