Final incident report: an SAA A340 came close to stalling in Swiss airspace in 2018

The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) released a report on a serious incident involving a South African Airways (SAA) flight in November 2018. During the incident, the crew lost control of a fully loaded Airbus 340-600 over Swiss airspace.

A change in wind conditions caused the aircraft to overspeed, leading the pilot in command to deactivate the autopilot and initiate a climb. At 40,000 feet, the aircraft reached the maximum angle of attack several times, triggering a warning of potential stalling.

Despite the pilot’s attempt to stabilise the aircraft, incorrect procedures were applied, and the actions were deemed insufficient, putting the aircraft at risk of stalling at high altitude. The report identified deficits in crew training and outdated software on SAA’s flight simulator, which contributed to the mishandling of the situation.

Since the incident, SAA has taken safety measures to address the issues, including updating pilot training, simulator software, and implementing additional “upset recovery” simulator training. The airline acknowledged the report and mentioned that mitigations were implemented earlier with input from SAA and the South African Civil Aviation Authority.

Full report (PDF 71 pages)