Virgin Atlantic flight experiences system failures leading to temporary grounding

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Airbus A380 | Airbus

By Sky Industry News

Dec 22, 2024

A Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330-900 was grounded for three days following multiple system failures, including issues with the autopilot and Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) systems. The incident occurred on flight VS-118, which was traveling from Miami to London Heathrow Airport. Virgin Atlantic is a British airline known for operating only widebody aircraft and recently marked its 40th anniversary.

According to The Aviation Herald, the aircraft involved in the incident is registered as G-VLDY and is relatively new, having first flown on December 15, 2022. This particular aircraft has been named "Eliza Doolittle" by Virgin Atlantic, continuing their tradition of naming planes after iconic women in British culture.

The Aviation Herald reported: "A Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330-900, registration G-VLDY performing flight VS-118 (dep Dec 16th) from Miami, FL (USA) to London Heathrow, EN (UK), was enroute at FL370 about 600nm south of Keflavik (Iceland) when the crew initiated a descent to FL280 out of RVSM (Reduced Vertical Separation Minima) airspace. The aircraft continued to London for a safe landing on runway 27R about 3.5 hours later."

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During the flight, the aircraft descended from an altitude of approximately 37,000 feet to 28,000 feet before safely landing at London Heathrow Terminal 3 around fifty minutes behind schedule.

The incident was reported by a listener on frequency who informed The Aviation Herald that "the crew on HF radio reported the failure of their CPDLC and autopilot malfunctions." With assistance from another company aircraft within VHF radio range, communication with engineering revealed that "they had Auto Flight Autopilot off," among other issues.

Data from Flightradar24 indicates that after being grounded post-incident on December 16th, the aircraft resumed flights on December 20th with a return trip to Miami. Since then, it has continued normal operations with flights between London and destinations such as New York and Saint Lucia.

Failed autopilots are not typically considered emergencies but do increase pilot workload significantly. Without autopilot assistance, one pilot must focus entirely on flying while the other handles additional tasks like paperwork.

Aircraft non-compliant with Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums must notify Air Traffic Control and usually descend below RVSM airspace levels. According to SKYbrary: "State airworthiness authorities are responsible for verifying that an aircraft is technically capable of meeting and maintaining stringent altimetry system performance requirements."