Runway excursion involving Boeing 777-300ER, A7-BED Brisbane Airport, Queensland, on 30 November 2021

Overview of the investigation

On 30 November 2021, a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, registration A7-BED, was being operated by Qatar Airways on a scheduled passenger flight from Auckland, New Zealand, to Brisbane, Queensland. During the landing at Brisbane Airport, the aircraft veered off the runway.

The flight crew were conducting an instrument approach to runway 01R at night and the captain was the pilot flying. During the approach, the aircraft encountered heavy rain and turbulence. The crew reported that, at about 300 ft above the runway level and still in rain, they established and maintained clear visual reference to the runway lighting and surrounds, including the runway centreline and edge lights.

The crew stated that, passing about 200 ft, the first officer announced the aircraft was drifting right of the runway centreline. The captain corrected the deviation. As the aircraft was about to touchdown, under the influence of a variable and gusting crosswind, the aircraft drifted right again and the captain was unable to correct the drift before touchdown.

The aircraft landed to the right of the runway centreline and drifting to the right. Shortly after touchdown, the right main landing gear contacted and destroyed 4 runway edge lights positioned on the sealed runway strip, before the aircraft returned towards the runway centreline.

After the landing was completed and the aircraft had exited the runway, aircraft systems alerted the flight crew of low pressure in one on the right main landing gear tyres. The flight crew stopped the aircraft on the taxiway and requested an external inspection of the aircraft. Damage to 4 right main landing gear tyres was observed, and the aircraft was towed to the international terminal. There were no injuries to passengers or crew.

The ATSB received an initial occurrence report on 1 December 2021 and commenced an investigation on the same date.

As part of the investigation, the ATSB interviewed the flight crew and reviewed:

• data from the aircraft's flight data recorder and quick access recorder
• weather information
• recorded air traffic control audio and surveillance data
• information provided by the aircraft operator, including flight crew rosters and the fatigue risk management system.

The investigation identified the following:

• runway 01R is 45-m wide with a grooved surface and runway centreline lighting and runway edge lighting, and there were no problems noted with the runway lighting
• there were no notable faults with aircraft systems
• there were no notable concerns regarding the flight crew’s decision-making
• the flight crew likely maintained sight of the runway centreline and edge lights throughout the landing, and were able to detect the aircraft’s drift before touchdown
• there was a substantial lateral wind gust that changed direction and intensity when the aircraft was below 100 ft above ground level
• the captain reported feeling between ‘a little tired’ and ‘moderately tired’ after having less than normal sleep quantity and quality in the 2 nights before the flight
• the captain was probably experiencing a level of fatigue known to adversely influence performance due to limited sleep obtained in the previous 48 hours
• the flight crew’s flight and duty times and rest periods met the operator’s fatigue risk management requirements for at least the preceding 28 days and they had significant rest opportunity prior to a flight from Brisbane to Auckland on 29 November and the occurrence flight from Auckland to Brisbane on 30 November.

Reasons for the discontinuation

The ATSB strives to use its limited resources for maximum safety benefit, and considers that in this case it was unlikely that further investigation would identify any systemic safety issues or important safety lessons from this specific occurrence.

Consequently, the ATSB has discontinued this investigation. The evidence collected during this investigation remains available to be used in future investigations or safety studies. The ATSB will also monitor for any similar occurrences that may indicate a need to undertake a further safety investigation.