Data entry blunders force Air Asia pilots to land in Melbourne instead of Malaysia

Correction: Sept. 7, 2016, 8:58 a.m. EDT The Air Asia pilots made several errors in entering data into the aircraft’s navigation system, which caused them to follow an incorrect flight path out of Sydney, according to Australian transportation officials. An earlier version of this story mischaracterized what errors the pilots made. While troubleshooting the incorrect flight path, the pilots were unable to fix the issue, and may have compounded it. The aircraft’s systems would not allow the plane to be flown in instrument conditions and the weather also had deteriorated in Sydney by the time the pilots decided to turn back. They were directed via radar to a visual approach in Melbourne where they could land safely. The pilots did not believe the airport was located in Malaysia.

Air Asia pilots may want to consider an extended holiday after technical glitches led them to fly  a passenger jet to the south-eastern Australian city of Melbourne instead of the (very different) South East Asian country of Malaysia.

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In March of 2015 an AirAsia X Airbus A330 had an intended flight path from Sydney, Australia to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Unfortunately for the passengers on-board a snow ball effect of technical errors meant they ended up in the wrong country.

Image: Australian transport safety bureau

Findings from an investigation undertaken by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau were issued this morning, stating that on the aircraft's departure, the air traffic control observed the plane entering the flight path from a parallel runway. The flight crew blamed an issue with their on-board navigational system. The report then found that all attempts to troubleshoot their error only created more problems.

Normally this is where one would throw in the proverbial towel and head back to the start, but due to poor weather in Sydney and lacking working instrumentation, the plane could no longer land there.

Air traffic control re-routed the plane to Melbourne, where it was able to land safely, nowhere near its initial or intended destination.