Gatwick Airport, UK — A British Airways flight bound for Vancouver was forced to abort its take-off at Gatwick Airport after the co-pilot mistakenly moved the wrong control lever, leading to a brake fire and runway closure, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has revealed.
The incident occurred on 28 June and involved a Boeing 777 aircraft carrying 334 passengers and a 13-person crew.
According to the AAIB report, the co-pilot “unintentionally” moved a thrust lever to his left instead of to his right, reducing engine thrust at a critical moment when the aircraft commander had called for full power to initiate lift-off.
The miscalculation caused the flight crew to abort the take-off, with the plane coming to a halt well before the end of the runway.
However, the abrupt stop led to overheating in the aircraft’s right-hand landing gear brakes, which caught fire shortly after the plane stopped. Airport firefighting crews responded quickly to extinguish the blaze. No injuries were reported among passengers or crew.
The runway at Gatwick was closed for 50 minutes following the incident, resulting in the cancellation of 23 departures at one of the UK’s busiest airports. British Airways has since reiterated its commitment to safety.
“Safety is always our highest priority and our pilots brought the aircraft to a safe stop,” a spokesperson for the airline said.
The AAIB report noted that the co-pilot, despite having over 6,100 hours of flying experience, was unable to explain the error and expressed surprise that he had misidentified his left from his right in a high-stakes situation.
The report confirmed there were no distractions or unusual workload issues at the time of the incident, and that the flight preparation and cockpit environment were otherwise “unremarkable.”
Adding to the peculiarity of the event, the AAIB highlighted that British Airways had issued a safety notice to its pilots just four days prior, encouraging them to “pause before execution and cognitively consider what the required action is.”
The airline has now included potential “mis-selections” as part of a new “safety topic” section in its pre-flight briefings and is promoting enhanced focus during simulator training.
The aircraft, which had been accelerating down the runway for take-off, briefly increased speed again before the flight was ultimately abandoned. The AAIB did not cite any mechanical fault, instead attributing the situation solely to human error.
Gatwick Airport has been contacted for comment but has yet to release a statement.
While the incident did not result in any casualties, it underscores the critical importance of cockpit coordination and the potential for human error even among experienced pilots.
Investigators are expected to continue reviewing the airline’s procedures and training protocols to prevent a similar incident from recurring.
The flight to Vancouver was eventually rescheduled, and all passengers were accommodated, British Airways confirmed.
