- The captain under training misunderstood the command from the training captain, which led to the early rotation.
On 6 February 2012 the flight crew of an Airbus A320-232, registered VH-JQX and operating as Jetstar Flight 745, commenced take-off from runway 16R at Sydney Airport, New South Wales. The flight crew consisted of a training captain and a captain under training. The captain under training was occupying the left seat and conducting the duties of captain.
During take-off, one of the thrust levers was inadvertently moved forward of the required detent, which resulted in a thrust setting reversion to manual mode. The training captain identified the issue and initially made the standard calls to the captain under training to indicate the issue with the thrust lever.
The captain under training was transitioning from another aircraft type to the A320 and the manual thrust mode on the A320 was consistent with his experience of a normal take-off on the previous aircraft type.
The training captain made a call to indicate that the take-off should continue with maximum thrust selected, and the captain under training began rotating the aircraft below the required rotation speed. At about that time the training captain increased the thrust levers to the maximum thrust setting. After noting the aircraft’s airspeed was below the required rotation speed, the captain under training discontinued the rotation until a suitable airspeed was achieved before commencing the climb.
The ATSB found that the captain under training misunderstood the command from the training captain, which led to the early rotation. The training captain recognised the thrust lever asymmetry situation, however, the captain under training did not, and this resulted in a miscommunication that was not resolved effectively between the crew.
In addition, the captain under training was transitioning from another aircraft type to the A320 and the manual thrust mode on the A320 was consistent with his experience of a normal take-off on the previous aircraft type. Following this incident, Jetstar have incorporated a module into their simulator training for all pilots, covering incorrect thrust settings at take-off. They have also released a communication to pilots on the responsibilities of the pilot in command in operational events.
Read the report: Inadvertent thrust lever asymmetry during the take-off roll involving an Airbus A320, VH-JQX, Sydney Airport, New South Wales, on 6 February 2012