AAIB investigation to Airbus A320-251N, G-UZEF
Aircraft did not pressurise, south-western UK airspace, 20 April 2025
The crew left the ditching pushbutton selected when re-configuring the aircraft from the de-icing checklist. With the ditching pushbutton selected the aircraft did not pressurise and the cabin altitude slowly increased as the aircraft climbed to its cruise altitude of FL390. The crew were alerted to the increasing cabin altitude, and an emergency descent was performed. During this procedure the commander noticed the ditching pushbutton was on and once this was deselected the aircraft pressurisation returned to normal. The aircraft was levelled at FL200 and after some analysis the crew determined that they could continue with the flight to their destination. The aircraft climbed up to FL370 and the rest of the flight was completed without further incident.
The operator and the manufacturer have taken safety action to raise awareness of the event and to amend the de-icing checklist.
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