The crew of a Boeing 737 continued an approach and landing at Sydney Airport despite the aircraft not meeting the stabilised approach criteria before it descended below the relevant altitude, an ATSB investigation report details.
The Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800 was on descent to Sydney at the end of a flight from Brisbane on 12 June 2025 when air traffic control provided clearance to conduct a visual approach to runway 34 left.
At this time, a required autopilot altitude selection was not completed and, a short time later, the aircraft deviated above the desired approach path.
"The captain, who was pilot flying, responded by disengaging the autopilot and auto thrust to manually re‑establish the approach descent profile, but without alerting the first officer to their intention," Director Transport Safety Stuart Macleod explained.
"This led to an unexpected increase in flight crew workload and reduced the situation awareness of the first officer, who was pilot monitoring."
The crew subsequently missed 2 required checklist items: the speed brake was not armed, and the final flap selection was not made before the aircraft descended below 1,000 ft above the airport elevation.
"This meant the operator's stabilised approach criteria were not met, and as such the flight crew should have conducted a go-around," Mr Macleod said.
The correct landing flap selection was made three seconds after the aircraft passed through the 1,000 ft stabilised approach criteria altitude.
Later, the captain identified the unarmed speed brake, and armed it as the aircraft descended through 405 ft.
After landing, the captain discussed the incident with the first officer and assessed that a missed approach should have been conducted.
Mr Macleod noted unstable approaches are a precursor to approach and landing accidents and runway excursions.
"A small oversight can quickly disrupt an otherwise standard approach, leading to a breach of the stabilised approach criteria," he said.
"Early recognition of an approach becoming unstable and promptly executing a go-around significantly reduces the risk of approach and landing accidents."
Mr Macleod noted that the incident demonstrates the importance of effective crew resource management, particularly when crews are faced with the unexpected.
"Effective flight crew monitoring is paramount to aircraft safety," he said. "Bringing deviations to the attention of the pilot flying ensures that the aircraft remains on a safe flight path and is correctly configured for the relevant phase of flight."
You can find here the final report: Unstable approach involving Boeing 737, VH-YIL, Sydney Airport, New South Wales, on 12 June 2025
