• 

  British Airways

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  BA/BAW

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  London Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport

  Year Founded:

  1974

  Alliance:

  oneworld

  Airline Group:

  IAG

  CEO:

  Sean Doyle

  Country:

  United Kingdom

On Wednesday, September 21st, a British Airways Airbus A320 flying from Bari (Italy) to London Gatwick airport performed a go-around after detecting a nose gear steering malfunction while on approach. Let's take a look at the details of this minor event.

Flight details

The incident occurred aboard an Airbus A320-200 operated by British Airways registered G-MIDY, which was performing flight BA2829 from Bari to London. Data from FlightRadar24.com indicates that the aircraft had an uneventful take-off from Bari at 14:09 - nine minutes later than the scheduled departure of 14:00.

After a little over two hours of smooth flying towards London, the aircraft initiated its final approach to Gatwick's runway 08R. According to the Aviation Herald, the jet was descending through about 1000 feet above ground level when the crew initiated a go-around because of a nose gear steering malfunction. The Aviation Herald also noted that passengers were informed of the nose gear steering malfunction by the crew.

The A320 climbed to 4000 feet and, after circling west of Gatwick over the towns of Plaistow and Loxwood, the crew positioned for another approach. About 25 minutes after initiating the go-around, the aircraft landed safely on runway 08R. However, the aircraft rolled to the end of the runway and stopped, having to be subsequently towed off.

The aircraft spent the rest of September 21st, as well as the 22nd and 23rd, on the ground at Gatwick. It was then ferried from London Gatwick to London Heathrow on September 24th, taking 22 minutes to get to London's largest airport and British Airways' main facilities. Considering the aircraft had been based at London Gatwick, this repositioning would indicate that more intensive repairs are required.

A repeat problem...

Interestingly, this aircraft suffered a fairly similar incident over a decade ago, in 2010, suffering a hydraulic failure. Again, an Aviation Herald report notes that the jet was on final approach into London Heathrow when the crew received a number of fault messages upon lowering the landing gear. The messages indicated the failure of the green hydraulic system.

In this incident, the crew executed a missed approach but was unable to retract the gear. Working through checklists, it then repositioned for another approach to Heathrow's runway 27R, landing safely about 30 minutes after performing the go-around. Just like last Wednesday's incident, the jet stopped on the runway and was subsequently towed to the gate.

What do you think of this story? Let us know in the comments!

About G-MIDY

Delivered in June of 1999, G-MIDY initially flew for British Midland and would later become a 'BMI' aircraft with the company's rebranding. Then, in 2012, the A320 became part of the British Airways fleet due to IAG's takeover of BMI.

G-MIDY would take a break from flying due to the events of 2020 and the travel downturn. It was stored in numerous facilities during this time: first at London Gatwick from 12-17 November 2020, then stored at Palma de Mallorca Airport from November 17th, 2020, to February 18th, 2021. Finally, the aircraft was stored at Madrid-Barajas Airport from February 18th until being reactivated in mid-June 2021.

At the time of this article's publication, the A320 is 23.4 years of age.

When was your last flight with British Airways? Share your experience by leaving a comment!

Sources: Planespotters.net, The Aviation Herald, FlightRadar24.com