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Wide body flight crew reported wake vortex encounter in trail of an airbus on final approach to mem that was strong enough to trigger a go-around.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1099572 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201307 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0001-0600 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | MEM.Airport |
| State Reference | TN |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Widebody Transport |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Initial Approach |
| Aircraft 2 | |
| Make Model Name | Airbus Industrie Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Flight Phase | Landing |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Person 2 | |
| Function | First Officer Pilot Not Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control Inflight Event / Encounter Wake Vortex Encounter |
Narrative:
At 320 ft AGL (radar altimeter); we encountered the wake from the preceding airbus which caused our aircraft to roll left and right greater than I could control. At 280 ft AGL I elected to go-around. The cause of the strong wake turbulence was the airbus we were following and the wind which was 040 at 7 KTS on the surface and 040 10-15 KTS on approach. We were told that we were 4.9 miles behind the airbus when we asked the controller about our sequence to the runway prior to calling the airfield in sight. We were told that our speeds were matched and we were told to slow to 170 KIAS and then slowed to 160 and finally to our final approach speed and told to hold that speed until five miles on final. We were stable with all checklists complete prior to 1;000 ft AGL while flying down the glide path. The go-around was uneventful. Tower asked us why we went around and we informed then it was for a wake encounter at low altitude on final. We then got vectors to an uneventful landing. Recat wake turbulence separation does not work when there is a quartering headwind. Please consider not using the closer spacing during these wind events.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Wide body flight crew reported wake vortex encounter in trail of an Airbus on final approach to MEM that was strong enough to trigger a go-around.
Narrative: At 320 FT AGL (radar altimeter); we encountered the wake from the preceding Airbus which caused our aircraft to roll left and right greater than I could control. At 280 FT AGL I elected to go-around. The cause of the strong wake turbulence was the Airbus we were following and the wind which was 040 at 7 KTS on the surface and 040 10-15 KTS on approach. We were told that we were 4.9 miles behind the Airbus when we asked the Controller about our sequence to the runway prior to calling the airfield in sight. We were told that our speeds were matched and we were told to slow to 170 KIAS and then slowed to 160 and finally to our final approach speed and told to hold that speed until five miles on final. We were stable with all checklists complete prior to 1;000 FT AGL while flying down the glide path. The go-around was uneventful. Tower asked us why we went around and we informed then it was for a wake encounter at low altitude on final. We then got vectors to an uneventful landing. RECAT wake turbulence separation does not work when there is a quartering headwind. Please consider not using the closer spacing during these wind events.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.