The UK Civil Aviation Authority has published a new podcast looking at what went wrong in May 2022, when an Airbus A320 approaching Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport was given an incorrect altimeter pressure setting.

The regulator’s ‘Safety Files’ podcast talks to aviation experts in the organisation and NATs to get perspectives on what happened and the risks involved.

The incident covered in the podcast saw the A320 given an incorrect altimeter pressure setting.

This caused the barometric altimeters on board to show that the aircraft was nearly 300 feet higher above the ground than it was.

Flight safety

Due to bad weather, the crew was unaware of the problem – and didn’t realise that they had come within six feet of hitting the ground.

Thankfully, no one was injured. But the incident could have resulted in the aircraft crashing to the ground before reaching the runway – a controlled flight into terrain short of the runway threshold that would have endangered close to 180 lives.

In order to ensure it stays at the forefront of the flying community’s mind, the UK Civil Aviation Authority has released a short safety video and a more detailed podcast episode highlighting the ways this deadly mistake can be avoided.
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