The reasons why a Jetstar flight veered off a runway after landing at Christchurch Airport in 2024 have been disclosed in a report by investigators.
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission has published its findings into the incident, involving an Airbus A320 carrying 169 passengers and six flight or cabin crew that occurred on May 31, 2024.
There were no injuries but some arrivals and departures were cancelled as the runway was cleared following the incident.
TAIC found one of the aeroplane's three hydraulic systems failed during the flight from Auckland and that fault disabled nosewheel steering and the right engine's thrust reverser.
The report said crew followed standard operating procedures and continued with the flight to Christchurch.
It was planned the crew would use differential braking to steer off the runway onto the rapid exit taxiway.
The landing began according to plan, until the turn when the crew lost directional control and the plane veered off the tarmac. It hit an aerodrome signboard and continued across the grass until coming to a stop back on the main runway.
Nobody was injured, but hitting the sign caused "significant damage" to an engine, TAIC said.
On investigation, TAIC found the captain had unintentionally moved the thrust levers from the maximum reverse to climb power when intending to move the levers to forward idle for taxiing.
This lever position went unnoticed and the plane accelerated.
Pilot 'likely to have been startled'
TAIC chief investigator of accidents Louise Cook said it's likely the engines spooling up had startled the pilot, who responded instinctively and pulled both thrust levers back to maximum reverse.
Cook said this produced reverse thrust on the left, but due to the hydraulic failure, forward thrust on the right, and created a leftward turning force.
"On the face of it, this option appeared safe and achievable to the pilots because Airbus documentation, repeated in Jetstar’s Flight Crew Techniques Manual, provided no guidance on use of differential braking specifically for steering off the runway via a rapid exit," she said.
"The pilots could have planned to stop on the runway and wait for a tow but, to avoid blocking the runway and delaying other flights, they opted for the rapid exit they had often used before.
"They were likely so focused on making that exit that they missed important cues that the position of the thrust levers was not as intended."
Jetstar has since changed its guidance to flight crews to prevent another occurance, TAIC said.
TAIC recommended Airbus revise its aircraft manuals and instructor guidance to mitigate the risk other pilots may move the thrust levers while on the ground to an unintended position, which would lead to an unexpected engine thrust.
A spokesperson for the airport said the aircraft would be towed to the gate for passengers to disembark. (Source: Supplied)
Airbus accepted the recommendation, and planned to do this in April and May 2026.
The incident also highlighted the importance of maintenance engineers conducting detailed inspection of new parts for potential damage before they were installed.
In this case, TAIC said a titanium hydraulic pipe was just 1mm out of shape, and slightly oval, instead of round.
It said this deformity very likely occurred when the pipe's packaging was damaged in transit between Airbus warehouses in 2015. The damage was not detected before or after the installation and failed after 18 months of service.
Jetstar 'strengthens procedures', thanks passengers
In response to the report, a Jetstar spokesperson said: "Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our customers and crew."
"We’ve worked closely with the regulator and Airbus to fully understand what occurred and have strengthened our procedures to help prevent a recurrence and ensure the ongoing safety and resilience of our operations."
Jetstar thanked customers onboard for their cooperation and acknowledged the experience may have been upsetting.
The spokesperson added Jetstar will continue to work with the regulator to ensure ongoing safety.
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