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| Date: | Tuesday 27 June 2000 |
| Time: | 15:47 LT |
| Type: |  Airbus A300B4-605R |
| Owner/operator: | American Airlines |
| Registration: | N14065 |
| MSN: | 508 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1989 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 204 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Serious incident |
| Location: | 10 NM Northeast of Filton, Gloucestershire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) |
| New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport, NY (JFK/KJFK) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The aircraft was planned to operate a scheduled flight from London (Heathrow) to New York
(J F Kennedy). The aircraft mass at take off was 377,738 lb with the centre of gravity (CG)
calculated to be at 32⋅5% of mean aerodynamic chord; this represents an aircraft operating close to
its maximum mass at an aft CG. The serviceable aircraft had a flight deck complement of three
pilots, of whom the first officer (FO) was the handling pilot. The aircraft took off at 1534 hrs from
Runway 09R and was cleared to follow the Compton Five Juliet standard instrument departure
prior to routing to the west.
During the departure and climb the FO flew the aircraft manually. As the aircraft was approaching
FL220, at a reported airspeed of 325 KIAS, the aircraft experienced an abrupt disturbance which
was perceived by the flight crew to be a disturbance in yaw with no attendant lateral motion evident
in the resulting manoeuvre. They believed that the yawing motion had been caused by an
uncommanded rudder input. The disturbance was accompanied by a loud bang which was noted by
both the flight crew and some of the cabin attendants. They all reported the noise as being
coincident with the disturbance. At the time of the event the aircraft was configured as follows:
flaps and slats 'IN', landing gear 'UP', auto pilot 'OFF', pitch trim (systems 1 and 2) 'ON' and yaw
damper (systems 1 and 2) 'ON'. The aircraft was clear of cloud and there were no other aircraft
reported in the vicinity.
Following the disturbance the aircraft appeared to behave normally. However, the commander
decided to return to London (Heathrow) rather than commence a transatlantic flight following a
suspected an uncommanded flight control input. An uneventful, overweight landing on Runway
09L was completed at 1624 hr
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/542303e540f0b61346000ccd/dft_avsafety_pdf_500754.pdf
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/149364 (Photo)
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-May-2025 21:29 | Justanormalperson | Added |
| 25-May-2025 21:30 | Justanormalperson | Updated [Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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