Windshear event - Boeing 737-7BX, VH-VBR, Melbourne Airport, Victoria, on 24 August 2010

On 24 August 2010, a Boeing Aircraft Company 737-700 aircraft, registered VH-VBR, was being operated on a passenger flight between Sydney, New South Wales and Melbourne, Victoria.

During the descent into Melbourne, at about 900 ft, the aircraft encountered windshear, resulting in the airspeed increasing rapidly. The pilot in command (PIC) immediately initiated a missed approach in accordance with the operator's windshear escape manoeuvre. During the manoeuvre, the PIC observed a 'PULL UP' alert momentarily activate on the primary flight display (PFD).

As the crew was visual and a positive rate of climb established, the copilot believed that the windshear escape manoeuvre had been completed and the normal go-around procedure had been commenced. Consequently, the copilot selected 15 degrees of flap, the setting used when conducting a go-around, and queried whether the aircraft's landing gear should be retracted.

The aircraft was climbed to 5,000 ft and an approach and landing on runway 27 was conducted, without further incident. After landing, the PIC reported the windshear occurrence and possible flap overspeed to the maintenance engineers. An inspection of the leading and trailing edge flaps was carried out with nil defects found.

The Flight Safety Foundation states that flight crew awareness and alertness are key factors in the successful application of windshear avoidance and recovery techniques.