Air Accidents Investigation Branch
Summary
As the Boeing 737 was making an approach to Runway 05R at Manchester Airport a thunderstorm was approaching the airport. At decision height, visual reference with the runway was lost and the flight crew initiated a manually flown, manual thrust go-around. During the initial actions of the go-around the aircraft experienced a sudden loss of headwind which caused a loss of airspeed. The commander reacted to the loss of airspeed by reducing the pitch attitude which resulted in a slight descent, which triggered an EGPWS caution. The commander reacted appropriately to the caution and the aircraft climbed away without further incident.
The operator is taking action to raise awareness of the threat of thunderstorms in the UK and promote appropriate briefing to mitigate the threat, and is reviewing its guidance for manual thrust go-arounds.