Ryanair Boeing 737 Max plunged 2,000 feet in 17 seconds on a flight to London

28 June 2024 , 12:42

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Ryanair Boeing 737 Max plunged 2,000 feet in 17 seconds on a flight to London

A Ryanair flight plummeted more than 2,000ft at high speed in just 17 seconds as it came in to land, an investigation has found.

The Boeing 737 Max airliner was in the final stages of its descent into London Stansted Airport when it suddenly plunged on December 4 last year.

Ryanair said the sharp downward dive was ‘a case of an unstable approach‘ and pilots were forced to circle around again before landing successfully at the second time of asking. 

But the air accident watchdog declared it a ‘serious incident’ and is carrying out an investigation. 

Data showed the aircraft fell at a rate of more than 8,000ft per minute, even though it was already flying at a low altitude.  

The incident happened during a two-hour flight from Klagenfurt in Austria to the capital.

Nobody on board the 197-seat plane was reported to have been hurt.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said in its log that the jet experienced a ‘high speed and high nose down pitch attitude’, which effectively means it suddenly began flying downwards on a steep trajectory. 

This happened during the ‘go-around’, according to the AAIB, which is when a plane is approaching the runway but the pilots abort the landing.

They then crank the engines to full power to begin climbing upwards again before circling around the airport and carrying out another landing attempt. 

Data from the journey, recorded by Flightradar24, shows the aircraft descended at a steady rate to 2,350ft before appearing to abort the landing and performing a go-around.

Shortly after, the aircraft’s altitude suddenly dropped from 4,425ft to 2,300ft in just 17 seconds, while its speed also increased drastically from 226mph to 321mph.

Its altitude then steadied and the plane landed successfully around 10 minutes later, i reports. 

According to Ireland’s Air Accident Investigation Unit, which is assisting the AAIB probe, the flight also involved a ‘level bust’, whereby an aircraft flies at least 300ft below or above the altitude instructed by air traffic control. 

It’s not yet known what caused the aircraft to plunge suddenly, however the plane involved, which usually flies five or six times a day, did not fly again for two days after, according to flight records.  

James Smith