You can contribute by submitting additional or updated information.
| Date: | Sunday 27 April 2008 |
| Time: | 02:18 |
| Type: |  Airbus A340-313 |
| Owner/operator: | Virgin Atlantic Airways |
| Registration: | G-VAIR |
| MSN: | 164 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1997 |
| Engine model: | CFMI CFM56-5C4 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 122 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Category: | Serious incident |
| Location: | Nairobi-Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) -
 Kenya
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) |
| Nairobi-Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO/HKJK) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Airbus A340 G-VAIR was scheduled to operate a London Heathrow (LHR) to Nairobi (NBO) passenger flight. The crew reported for duty at 17:45 hrs at London Heathrow and the flight was uneventful until the landing.
The 01:00 GMT ATIS obtained for Nairobi before the top of descent reported the wind to be from 040° at 3 kt with 7 km visibility, broken cloud at 1,600 ft, temperature and dewpoint 15°C and QNH 1020. The crew carried out an RNAV (Area Navigation) approach for runway 06 at Nairobi. The ATIS weather was confirmed with ATC during the early part of the approach. Later during the approach ATC passed information to G-VAIR that an aircraft ahead had reported the landing visibility as 3,000 m with a cloudbase of 300 ft agl. The first officer, who was pilot flying (PF), rebriefed the initial go-around actions and the approach was continued with the autopilot and autothrottle engaged.
The crew stated that they became visual with the runway at a height of between 300 ft and 200 ft. At the decision height of 200 ft, both pilots could see all the approach lights and a good section of runway lights. The autopilot was disconnected at 100 ft radio altitude and the PF began to flare the aircraft between 75 ft and 50 ft radio altitude. The aircraft floated at around 20 ft for a few seconds before it entered an area of fog and the PF lost sight of the right side of the runway and the runway lights. The commander also lost sight of the right side of the runway. The aircraft touched down normally on the main gear only; the body and nose gear did not contact the ground throughout the event. The commander became aware of the left runway edge lights moving rapidly closer to him before he lost the lights completely and was only aware of their position by the glow of the lights illuminating the fog. The commander called "GO AROUND" and the PF immediately advanced the thrust levers from idle to full thrust within one second. G-VAIR became airborne after a period of just under five seconds on the ground. The gear retracted normally and the crew continued with the go-around, climbing to 9,000 ft to enter the hold. The crew suspected that the aircraft might have departed the left side of the runway. An inspection by airport staff confirmed the presence of a single set of landing gear marks off to the left of the paved surface. With the first officer remaining as PF, the crew carried out an uneventful diversion at FL230 to Mombasa followed by a normal, day VMC landing.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f734e5274a131400060b/Airbus_A340-313__G-VAIR_11-09.pdf
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/6166693 (Photo)
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 5 December 1998 | G-VAIR | Virgin Atlantic Airways | 0 | 120 nm North of Lusaka |  |
min |
| Inflight fire | ||||||
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 26-Jul-2012 07:20 | harro | Added |
| 28-Mar-2025 18:32 | Justanormalperson | Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 28-Mar-2025 18:33 | ASN | Updated [Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2025 Flight Safety Foundation