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| Date: | Sunday 27 October 2024 |
| Time: | 07:15 UTC |
| Type: |  Airbus A330-343 |
| Owner/operator: | South African Airways - SAA |
| Registration: | ZS-SXJ |
| MSN: | 1754 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2016 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 16139 hours |
| Engine model: | Rolls-Royce Trent 772-B60 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 223 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 5 nm west of Loxton -
 South Africa
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Cape Town International Airport (CPT/FACT) |
| Johannesburg-O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB/FAOR) | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA S.A. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
South African Airways flight SA314, an Airbus A330-343, was en route at FL410 when, the aircraft started to oscillate between pitch-up and pitch-down movements. The first officer, who was the pilot flying (PF), immediately noticed the speed trend vector increasing to approximately 40 knots (kts) into overspeed (red barber pole) protection area.
To prevent overspeed, the PF disconnected autopilot to arrest the up and down pitch movements.
Thereafter, the PF instructed the pilot monitoring (PM) to request a descent from ATC so as to increase the margins between the high- and low-speed protections. The PM turned ON the seatbelt sign and requested a descent to FL390. The aircraft descended to FL390 without further incident. The oscillation, which was followed by overspeed, and vertical indicators occurred within a few seconds of each other.
There was no indication of turbulence on the synoptic charts or predictions in the Aviation Routine Weather
Report (ARMS).
The cabin crew was serving breakfast at the time of the serious incident; the food and hot beverages fell from
the trolleys and spilled on the floor. As a result, three cabin crew members sustained minor injuries, one suffered serious injuries. A structural inspection of the aircraft was performed after the serious incident; no damage was found.
** Note: the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) classified the occurrence as a Serious Incident.
ASN classifies this as as an Accident (per ICAO Annex 13), given the serious injury of a crew member.
Probable Cause:
The aircraft flew into clear air turbulence which led to the up and down oscillation of the aircraft; as a result, the
cabin crew members incurred injuries as they were serving breakfast, including hot beverages, at the time.
Contributing Factor
- The PF disregarded the Airbus Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH) and disengaged the autopilot without proper
communication to the PM at the time of the incident.
- The aircraft weather radar did not show any significant weather in the vicinity.
- Poor Crew Resource Management
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://bea.aero/en/investigation-reports/notified-events/detail/incident-to-the-airbus-a330-registered-zs-sxj-operated-by-sa-express-airways-on-27-10-2024-en-route/
CAA SA
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 15-Nov-2024 13:26 | ASN | Added |
| 22-Oct-2025 12:01 | Edwin van Rij | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
| 22-Oct-2025 12:05 | ASN | Updated [Time, Total occupants, Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report, ] |
| 22-Oct-2025 12:18 | ASN | Updated [Narrative, ] |
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