Aberdeen flight descended for 57 seconds without crew noticing

A holiday jet told to perform a go-around of Aberdeen Airport descended for almost a minute before the air crew noticed, a report has said.

The Boeing 737 operated by Tui was flying into Aberdeen from Majorca in September last year when air traffic controllers asked for a landing delay.

It initially climbed, then descended for 57 seconds before action was taken.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said the crew became overloaded by their high workload.

The aircraft, with 67 passengers and six crew on board, was below 1,600ft before climbing again. It landed safely with no further incident.

The Boeing 737 was flying into Aberdeen from Majorca

The AAIB report said it was a "serious" incident. It said the air crew's lack of flying hours during the pandemic was one of a combination of factors that led to them not noticing the descent.

The report said: "The aircraft descended for a total of 57 seconds before the climb was re-established.

"It is likely that the crew allowed the aircraft to descend unnoticed having become overloaded by the high workload during the go-around."

The report said safety actions were taken in the wake of the incident by air traffic control, the flight's operator and the jet's manufacturer.