Pilot who sparked mid-air alert with 44-degree tilt ‘didn’t sleep properly’

An Aer Lingus pilot admitted he “may have been tired” before disconnecting the autopilot to rush a Dublin Airport landing, triggering a terrifying 44-degree bank that left 146 passengers in danger, according to an official AAIU investigation

An Aer Lingus pilot who confessed he “may have been tired” sparked a mid-air alert over Dublin after switching off his autopilot to hurry a landing, an investigation has found.

The 146 passengers aboard the January 2025 flight from Faro in Portugal to Dublin Airport endured a sharp 44-degree bank, far exceeding the standard 33-degree safety threshold, during a failed approach to the runway.

An official report by the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) described the terrifying incident as an “aircraft upset” – a phrase used when an aircraft inadvertently moves beyond its intended flight boundaries.

Based on the recently published findings, the flight’s captain informed investigators he “did not sleep well the night before the flight and that he may have been tired”. The incident took place on January 14, 2025, as the crew attempted to cut short their route to the runway.

Despite air traffic controllers explicitly asking the pilots whether they required “extra track miles” to correctly align their descent, the crew continued.

But as they arrived too elevated and too quickly, the captain switched off the autopilot to fully deploy the aircraft’s speed brakes.

Nevertheless, this choice to pilot the aircraft manually resulted in “degraded situational awareness”, according to the AAIU.

The crew tried a descending “orbit” to the right to reduce altitude, which caused the severe 44-degree bank, reports Dublin Live.

During the sharp turn, the Airbus A320’s speed plummeted dangerously low, dropping beneath the minimum recommended speed (VLS) designed to prevent a stall on two separate occasions. Fortunately, a potential catastrophe was avoided when the aircraft’s automatic low-speed protection systems kicked in according to its safety protocols.

Throughout the incident, the flight directors momentarily vanished from the cockpit displays before the commander applied takeoff thrust to stabilise the aircraft. Amid the resulting chaos, the jet ascended to 4,200 feet, exceeding its authorised altitude of 3,500 feet.

The pilots successfully abandoned the failed landing attempt, requested radar vectors for a second approach, and touched down safely without any additional problems.

Following the incident, Aer Lingus prohibited pilots from carrying out orbit manoeuvres during approaches, except during training sessions.

They have also started advising crews to execute a go-around if there is any uncertainty regarding a safe landing.

Thanks to the airline’s proactive safety initiatives, the AAIU wrapped up its report without issuing any additional safety recommendations.

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