On 4 and 29 May 2010, an Airbus A330-343E aircraft,
registered 9M-XXB, was being operated by AirAsia X on
scheduled passenger services from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to the
Gold Coast, Queensland. On both occasions, there was low cloud and
reduced visibility on arrival at the Gold Coast.
During non-precision instrument approaches conducted
at Gold Coast Airport on both days, the flight crews descended the
aircraft below the segment minimum safe altitudes. As a result, the
aircraft descended to an altitude where there was no longer
separation assurance from terrain and aircraft operating outside
controlled airspace.
While those operational non-compliances occurred
prior to the final approach fix for the instrument approaches and
not below 1,200 ft above aerodrome height, they were
indicators of a minor safety issue regarding the operator's
training of its flight crews.
In response to this incident, the aircraft operator made a
number of changes to flight crew procedures when conducting
instrument approaches. The operator also modified the recurrent
simulator training program to include more complex non‑precision
instrument approaches.