AxR Aviation
84 posts
🔴 A TAP Air Portugal pilot ignored four separate warnings before nearly crashing his Airbus A320neo into the hills near Prague Airport, this past January. Two warnings came from his co-pilot, two more from air traffic control. None of them made him pull up. Investigators believe he fell into a state of "tunnel vision" and misread the navigation map, thinking he was already 13 km closer to Prague than he actually was. He began descending as if on final approach to the airport, while still flying over forested terrain west of the city. The emergency pull-up only started at 295 meters above the ground. The plane climbed to 1,784 meters, with passengers experiencing 2G forces in the cabin during the sharp ascent. The crew then made a hard left turn to loop back and try the approach again, which investigators say further confirms the pilot believed he was already near the airport. To make things worse, the cockpit voice recorder captured none of the crew's communication during the critical moments. The pilots never pressed the required button after the incident, so the recording was overwritten. Investigators also noted that the crew arrived late at the cockpit before departure and skipped the mandatory pre-landing briefing. The final investigation report is expected later in 2026. #Aviation #TapAir
