Pilot in Voyager tanker dive to be court martialled

The pilot of a Voyager tanker that went into a dive in February 2014 is facing court martial for the incident. The aircraft was on a routine flight transporting 198 people, when it went into a dive, losing 4400 feet in just under 30 seconds. The copilot ended up with his feet on the cockpit ceiling, attempting to recover the aircraft.

The cause of the incident was the pilot's SLR camera being placed on the armest of his seat. It pushed forward on the control column and jammed it full forward. The aircraft flight envelope protection system is all that saved the aircraft. There were 24 injuries in the cabin. After the incident the pilot made statements to investigators that led them to believe there was a problem with the autopilot. He now faces charges of perjury, making a false report, and negligently performing a duty.

LONDON—A British Royal Air Force pilot who sent an Airbus A330 Voyager tanker into a dive by jamming his personal camera between his seat and the controls is to be court-martialed.
According to the Sunday Times newspaper, the pilot, who has not been named, will face court-martial next February. The charges are perjury, making a false record and negligently performing a duty.

A U.K. Military Aviation Authority (MAA) report into the February 2014 incident published last March described how the pilot—the aircraft’s commander—had placed his personal digital SLR camera between the captain’s seat armrest and the left-hand side-stick controller during a flight from the U.K. to Afghanistan. As the captain moved his seat forward, the position of the camera forced the side-stick fully forward. This initiated a pitch-down command, sending the aircraft into a steep dive, with the A330 losing 4,400 ft. in 27 sec.

m.aviationweek.com...

I'm still trying to picture the Co-Pilots attempt at recovery. Scary stuff Man.

Wow....this really reinforces the fact that innocent mistakes can have huge consequences.....within this technologically advanced age. We have created circumstances where people's lives are put at risk by what would otherwise be a minor oversight.

originally posted by: stosh64
a reply to: Zaphod58

The charges are perjury, making a false record and negligently performing a duty.

This guy gets court martialed but our leading candidate for president is set to get the ultimate promotion.

Things that make me SMH.

Thank God for that co-pilot.

Thanks for not adding to the discussion in the aviation forum. First he is a British Officer so different rules and second ANY pilot that did this military or civilian would be hung out to dry.

On-topic: Good on the copilot for the work he did and this pilot deserves this for lying instead of manning up for his errors. One thing all military bangs into your head is take responsibility for your actions.

Good lord...

No excuse for that at all... court martial and maybe a decade of hard labor to send a message to the rest of the pilots.

An accident is not catching a failure right away... forgetting to flip the rudder control while doing a go around.. that was negligence plain and simple.


Im just sitting here shaking my head trying to picture the situation, him struggling to get the phone out while the Co is cranking back for all he is worth... wow..

a reply to: Irishhaf

I wonder if he used brute force to remove it or it occurred to him to move the seat again.

Sometimes, If anything can go wrong.... is appropriate.

I wonder if he could have avoided all the trouble coming his way if he would have just come right out and said he messed up. Honest but careless mistake putting FOD next to the controls..

Jesus. Can you imagine that? You are so far nose down, you're trying to fight for control with your feet on the ceiling.
What the hell was Captain Selfie doing during all this?

a reply to: Irishhaf

I can't even imagine what was going through the head of the copilot during this event. Hell of a job though turning his brain on and taking action. He had to be beyond disoriented. What makes it worse is that this isn't the first time the AC has carried his camera in the cockpit with him. He reportedly had it with him almost all the time, taking pictures out the cockpit windows during flight.

originally posted by: NoCorruptionAllowed
I wonder if he could have avoided all the trouble coming his way if he would have just come right out and said he messed up. Honest but careless mistake putting FOD next to the controls..

Good question, I was thinking the exact same thing.

a reply to: NoCorruptionAllowed

Probably. I've seen some pretty good screw ups where nothing happened to the people involved. We had a T-33 land gear up, because the crew was talking about their plans for the weekend. They admitted it, the aircraft was repaired, and they were flying again in a couple of weeks.

A B-1 landed gear up in Diego Garcia after the crew was suffering Gethomeitis and forgot to put the gear down. Both pilots were flying again within a few weeks, the copilot after his back healed up.

Even if it just an honest mistake, which it sounds more like incompetence, his pilot's license needs to be permanently revoked for anything larger than a crop duster.

The pilot carrying his personal camera into the cockpit is a violation of SOPs and a complete disregard for cockpit discipline and this is the most likely reason he's facing courts-martial. Not to mention he perjured himself and didn't file a correct report on the matter. However, he has clearly demonstrated he can't safely fly so his access to all planes should be permanently restricted. My best,

a reply to: airforce47

The pilot carrying his personal camera into the cockpit is a violation of SOPs and a complete disregard for cockpit discipline and this is the most likely reason he's facing courts-martial

There are thousands of pictures and videos online taken from the cockpits of military aircraft. Are all those pilots deserving court-martial?

a reply to: C0bzz

It's not a black and white issue. But any pilot who carries a camera into the cockpit is risking disaster. I've had aircraft that were delayed, and we damn near had to yank the seat out because a pilot was changing the batteries in his camera and dropped one. The potential for cockpit FOD is extremely high. But at the same time, cameras like the GoPro that can be strapped to helmets and operated safely, are less of a risk, and they can look the other way.

All that said, this pilot flat out lied to investigators, and this incident would have never happened if he had been more careful, and paid more attention. He deserves a court martial.

a reply to: Zaphod58

If while I was an FE and I ran into this situation...

Me and the Pilot would have had serious words assuming we survived... and by serious I would have had a court martial for striking an officer.

a reply to: Irishhaf

I'm surprised he didn't try to pitch him out the window mid flight. I'll guarandamntee that no one will fly with this guy again, even if he beats the court martial.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: C0bzz

All that said, this pilot flat out lied to investigators, and this incident would have never happened if he had been more careful, and paid more attention. He deserves a court martial.

This is certainly the bottom line Zaph. Aside from his perjured statement of facts most of us had it drilled into our head that the only acceptable responses to a superior are "yes sir", "no sir", and " no excuses sir".