A serious incident was caused by a Ryanair aircraft at Cork airport last year when the pilot aborted his first landing attempt and then frightened Bishopstown residents when he circled low over their homes to make a second approach.
A report by the air accident investigation unit of the Department of Transport yesterday said at least 16 upset residents complained to the Cork Airport Authority about the noise and how low the aircraft was being flown.
Their complaints were "fully justified", according to accident investigator Frank Russell, who found Ryanair's standard operating procedures were not adhered to in either of the two landing approaches.
He found that by ignoring advice from his co-pilot, the pilot had not followed safety procedures. Alerts had sounded on the aircraft warning it was too low.
After publication of the report yesterday, Ryanair issued a statement saying it had co-operated fully with the investigation "and agrees with its findings". Following a disciplinary hearing, the pilot was demoted for deviating from Ryanair's standard operating procedures.
Mr Russell found the co-pilot unsuccessfully attempted to engage the pilot in a checklist. When he suggested a "go-around," the pilot declined and the co-pilot had repeatedly advised about height loss, "but to no avail".
After it landed, the pilot conceded "that maybe a standard go-around would have been a better decision in the circumstances", according to the report.
Following the first unsuccessful approach by the aircraft, which was carrying six crew and 128 passengers on a flight from London's Stansted airport, the pilot decided to circle for a second approach.
The airport is on a hill and normally the missed approach procedure in Cork is to climb to 3,000 feet. When the pilot circled he lost altitude. The aircraft dropped to 553 feet above sea level which is only 51 feet above the airport. At one stage the aircraft dropped to just 425 feet as it flew above suburban homes.
The pilot had almost 8,000 hours flying experience compared to the co-pilot's 850 hours.