Aviation disaster narrowly avoided for a Wizz Air charter flight to Athens departing from Luton Airport, near London, due to an error in takeoff procedures. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), the British body investigating aviation incidents, reconstructed the episode, which dates back to last April, publishing a bulletin on the incident on July 9.

There were 168 people on board the Boeing 737 Max: 162 passengers, four flight attendants, and two pilots. According to investigators, the aircraft "escaped disaster by just two seconds" due to an error in the takeoff data setting procedures in the onboard computer.

The problem concerned the so-called 'V speeds', the reference speeds that pilots must calculate and enter before departure to determine the correct moment of liftoff. An error in these parameters can alter the necessary performance of the aircraft during a critical phase such as takeoff.

The episode began when Luton's control tower proposed an "intersection departure" to the crew, a procedure used to reduce taxiing times when the available runway length is sufficient.

However, in the case of a takeoff from an advanced position, it is necessary to precisely recalculate the parameters and adjust engine thrust to the actually available runway space. According to the AAIB report, the pilots believed they had correctly updated the V speeds in the Flight Management Computer, but the data was not entered correctly.

The consequence was lower engine power than necessary, a longer takeoff run, and a lower initial climb than expected standards. From the analysis of the data, including flight tracking data, it emerged that the Boeing lifted off with just 162 meters of runway remaining, at a speed of approximately 168 kilometers per hour.

The aircraft left the ground only two seconds before the end of the runway. By the time it crossed the final edge of the airfield, the aircraft was approximately 4 meters high, compared to the 11 meters considered the minimum safety margin to ensure clearance of any obstacles.

Airport surveillance camera footage showed the Boeing in an extremely low climb phase, almost hidden by the line of hangars and other parked aircraft.

In the report, the AAIB highlighted the seriousness of the scenario, emphasizing that, in the event of a power loss during the takeoff phase, the aircraft might not have been able to stop within the available space nor clear obstacles beyond the runway.

Following the incident, operational procedure reviews were initiated to strengthen controls on reduced runway takeoffs. Wizz Air reiterated that the safety of passengers and crews is its priority and collaborated with the carrier responsible for operating the flight.

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