An Aer Lingus pilot who claimed he ‘did not sleep well the night before’ causing a botched landing ‘may have been tired’, an investigation has found.A mid-air alert was triggered on board a flight on January 14, 2025 from Faro, Portugal to Dublin Airport after the pilot disconnected his autopilot in order to land the plane.The aircraft experienced a steep 44-degree angle on descent, outside the standard 33-degree safety limit.A report by the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) said the landing was an ‘aircraft upset’ – which means the plane, which had 146 passengers on board, had moved outside its normal flight parameters.The investigation, only released this summer, reported that the flight commander said ‘in interview that his preferred roster was to bid for late duties; however, his last two flight duty periods were earlies having been preceded by a “blank day”.’ An Aer Lingus pilot ‘may have been tired’ during an incident, a report concludedIt added: ‘He also stated that he did not sleep well the night before his last duty day and that he did his best to manage his rest prior to reporting for duty.’During the landing, air traffic controllers asked the pilots if they needed ‘extra track miles’ in order to line up the descent properly.However, the pilots continued, with the aircraft becoming too high and fast on the approach – so the commander disconnected the autopilot so he could extend the speed brakes. This led to ‘degraded situational awareness’, and later the plane’s speed dropped. But the aircraft’s automatic low-speed protection systems kicked into gear, preventing disaster.The commander then applied takeoff thrust – causing the aircraft to climb to 4,200ft, above its cleared altitude of 3,500ft. On the second approach, after aborting the botched landing, the aircraft landed safely.The report said: ‘Following the scare, Aer Lingus banned pilots from performing orbit manoeuvres during approaches, except for in training.’They have also begun advising crews to initiate a go-around if there is any doubt over a safe landing.’ During the landing, the plane experienced a 44-degree angle, outside of normal parametersThe AAIU concluded the report without putting any further safety recommendations in place.’Analysis of the commander’s roster gave a fatigue-risk result that was within the acceptable range for flight operations. ‘The commander’s preference was for late duties. The commander said he did not sleep well the night before the flight and that he may have been tired.’No injuries were reported and the aircraft was not damaged.A statement from Aer Lingus said: ‘Aer Lingus acknowledges the publication of the AAIU report and the fact that there are no safety recommendations arising from it.’