Boeing 737 Narrowly Avoided Disaster in Belfast After Crew Error
- Pilot programming slip meant jet took off with 40% less power
- Investigator says plane could have crashed in steeper terrain
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A Boeing Co. 737 jet struck a light almost 100 feet beyond the end of a runway and just 14 inches high after taking off with insufficient power when its pilots entered the incorrect air-temperature into a computer, according to an air accident bulletin.
The jet, operated by Canada’s Sunwing Airlines, avoided crashing only because of the “benign nature” of the area beyond the runway at Belfast International airport in Northern Ireland and the low elevation of surrounding terrain, the U.K. Air Accident Investigation Branch said in the report on Wednesday.