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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hashan dis" data-source="post: 18669541" data-attributes="member: 124785">Virgin captain entered wrong data into 777 plane that flew too low at Melbourne The pilots of a Virgin Australia passenger jet that flew too low on its final approach to land at Melbourne Airport after the captain punched the wrong data into the Boeing 777's computer system were "probably experiencing fatigue", air-safety investigators have found. The latest report comes just a week after investigators found a Qantas captain was feeling tired, sick and had eaten only a half of cup of soup on the day his plane was forced to pull up after flying too low as it came into land at Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport. In Virgin's case, its 777 twin-engined jet was carrying 272 passengers and 17 crew as it flew below the correct approach path to just 500 feet above the ground. After the aircraft had been cleared to land at Melbourne and its landing gear and flaps lowered, the autopilot had increased the rate of descent from about 700 feet per minute to 1500. Advertisement The rate of descent was greater than the crew had expected, which the first officer pointed out to the captain. Shortly afterwards, the first officer looked out the cockpit to monitor the approach to the runway with his own eyes. The first officer quickly told the captain that the approach to the runway appeared to be too low, and the latter attempted to reduce the rate of descent before turning off the autopilot and taking manual control. Four red lights in the cockpit also indicated the plane was "well below" the correct glide path. The pilots flew the plane level until it was on the correct path and they landed safely a short time later. In its final report into the incident on August 15, 2013, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau found the Virgin captain "inadvertently entered an erroneous height against a way point", resulting in the aircraft increasing its rate of descent and flying lower than it should. Investigators were not able to determine exactly what led to the wrong data entry, but pointed out that a number of factors such as fatigue could have been played a part. They said the crew was probably experiencing fatigue to a level that affected performance due to them staying awake for long periods. The captain told the investigators that he was feeling tired as the aircraft approached Melbourne on its way from Los Angeles but considered it "normal" for the length of the 15-hour flight. The ATSB also pointed out that guidance in a Virgin manual had increased the potential for the incorrect altitude to be entered into the plane's flight management system. The investigators said the incident highlighted the factors that could affect the accuracy of data entry in critical systems of a plane. It also reinforced the importance of monitoring "descent profiles" regardless of whether the auto-flight system was on and taking quick action when the wrong height was detected. </blockquote>

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