South Yorkshire

G-GAVA took off from Belfast City Airport at 1745 hrs operating a scheduled air service to Doncaster Sheffield Airport with one passenger and a crew of two pilots on board. The commander was the Pilot Flying (PF) and the co-pilot was the Pilot Monitoring (PM). The departure, cruise and approach to Doncaster Sheffield were uneventful. The 1820 hrs ATIS for the airport stated that the wind was from 260° at 5 kt, varying between 220° and 280°. Visibility was greater than 10 km, there were few clouds at 3,000 ft aal, the temperature was 17°C and the QNH was 1,019 hPa. Although Runway 02 was the active runway, the crew requested radar vectors for a visual final approach to Runway 20, a request which was approved by ATC. The load sheet recorded that the aircraft’s mass at landing was expected to be 5,059 kg which required a target threshold indicated airspeed (IAS) of 101 kt. The aircraft touched down at 1836 hrs with an IAS of 102 kt and a peak normal acceleration of 1.3 g, and the commander moved the power levers aft to ground idle and then to reverse. As the aircraft decelerated, the commander moved the power levers forward to ground idle and asked the co-pilot to move the RPM levers to taxi. At an IAS of 65 kt, eight seconds after touchdown, the left wing dropped suddenly, the aircraft began to yaw to the left and the commander was unable to maintain directional control with either the rudder or the nosewheel steering tiller. The aircraft ran off the left side of the runway and stopped on the grass having turned through approximately 90°. The left landing gear had collapsed and the aircraft had come to a halt resting on its baggage pannier, right landing gear and left wing. The commander pulled both feather levers, to ensure that both engines were shut down, and switched the Electrics Master switch to emergency off. The co-pilot transmitted “tower……[callsign]” and the controller replied “[callsign] copied, emergency services on their way”. The commander instructed the co-pilot to evacuate the aircraft. The co-pilot moved into the main cabin where he found that the passenger appeared to be uninjured. He considered evacuating the aircraft through the emergency exit on the right side but judged that the main exit on the left side at the rear of the cabin would be the best option. The left side cabin door released normally but would not open completely because the sill of the doorway was at ground level (Figure 1) but, all occupants were able to evacuate the aircraft. The Aerodrome Controller in the ATC tower activated the Crash Alarm at 1836 hrs while the aircraft was still on the paved surface of the runway. Two Rescue and Fire Fighting Service vehicles arrived on scene at 1838 hrs by which time the occupants were clear of the aircraft.

The pilot was landing at a private strip at Wentworth. The runway was oriented 110/290° and had several level changes along its length which required all landings to be made in the 110° direction and all takeoffs in the 290° direction. Touchdown was required to take place on a level portion before the ground rose relatively steeply and levelled out again. The final part of the runway sloped gently down towards the end, which was bordered by a dry stone wall. The surface, from police photographs taken soon after the accident, showed it to be closely mown grass and firm, despite the indications of recent rain. The wind at the time was 220°/10 kt and the pilot reported that the approach was made directly into the setting sun, making it difficult to monitor the airspeed indicator. Touchdown was achieved on the first level portion of the runway and the brakes were applied very soon afterwards; however the pilot stated that there was no discernible braking action, despite applying firmer pressure on the brake pedals. Seeing that the stone wall at the end of the runway was approaching, he steered the aircraft to the right and towards a hedge, however he was unable to prevent the left wing striking the walland causing severe damage outboard of the engine. The pilot was uninjured and evacuated the aircraft normally. The police photographs indicate that the mainwheels were skidding on the wet grass almost throughout the landing roll of about 630 metres. Whilst the pilot acknowledged that his airspeed might have been somewhat high, he did not feel at the time of touchdown that his ground speed was unusual and he attributes the lack of braking action to the slippery runway surface.

The crew were planned to fly a scheduled passenger flight from Dublin to Sheffield airport and the commander was the handling pilot for the flight. Both pilots had operated into Sheffield between five and ten times in the previous three months. The aircraft, which was serviceable, took off from Dublin at 1814 hrs and was routed to Sheffield via the VOR/DME navigation beacon at Wallasey at FL90. Prior to descent, the crew obtained the most recent information from the Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS); this report, timed at 1820 hrs, was identified as 'Information Hotel'. The reported conditions at Sheffield were: surface wind variable at 03 kt, visibility 4,000 metres in rain and snow, a few clouds at 600 feet, scattered cloud at 1,200 feet and broken cloud at 3,000 feet, the temperature and dew point were coincident at +1°C and the QNH was 989 hPa. Air traffic control was passed to the Sheffield approach controller when the aircraft was 12 nm from the overhead at which time it was descending to 5,000 feet on the QNH. The crew were informed that the current ATIS was now 'Information India' and the aircraft was cleared to descend to 3,000 feet when within 10 nm of the airport. 'Information India', timed at 1850 hrs, contained no significant changes from 'Information Hotel'. The aircraft weight for the landing was calculated to be 11,100 kg with an associated threshold speed of 103 kt. The aircraft was cleared for the ILS/DME procedure for Runway 28 and the crew requested the QFE which was 980 hPa. The decision height for the approach was 400 feet. During the initial stages of the manually flown ILS approach the commander's flight director warning flag appeared briefly but then disappeared and did not reappear during the remaining period of flight. The de-ice boots had been selected to 'ON' early in the descent when the aircraft had briefly encountered light icing. These de-ice boots were selected to 'OFF' when at 5 nm from the runway at which stage there were no indications of icing and the indicated outside air temperature was +5°C. (This is indicative of an actual air temperature of +2°C.) At 1918:11 hrs the crew reported that they were established on the localiser. When the aircraft intercepted the glidepath, the flaps were set to 15° correctly configuring the aircraft for the approach. The handling pilot recalled that initially the rate of descent was slightly higher than the expected 650 ft/min leading him to suspect the presence of a tailwind, however, the rate of descent returned to a more normal value when approximately 4 nm from the runway. The propellers were set to the maximum rpm at 1,200 feet agl. When the crew reported that they were inside 4 nm they were cleared to land and passed the surface wind, which was variable at 2 kt; they were also warned that the runway surface was wet. Both pilots saw the runway lights when approaching 400 feet agl; the flaps were selected to 30° and confirmed at that position. Both pilots believed that the airspeed was satisfactory but, as the commander checked back on the control column for the landing, the rate of descent increased noticeably and the aircraft landed firmly. Both pilots believed that the power levers were in the flight idle position and neither was aware of any unusual control inputs during the landing flare. Two separate witnesses saw the aircraft during the later stages of the approach and the subsequent landing, one of these witnesses was in the control tower and the other was standing in front of the passenger terminal. They both saw the aircraft come into view at a height of approximately 400 feet and apparently travelling faster than normal. They described the aircraft striking the ground very hard with the left wing low; both heard a loud noise coincident with the initial contact. They then reported that the aircraft bounced before hitting the ground again, this time with the nose wheel first, before bouncing once more. Crew statements and flight data evidence indicate that the aircraft lifted no more than 8 feet before settling on the runway and then remained on the ground. The aircraft was then seen to travel about half way along the runway before slewing to the left and running onto the grass. When the aircraft stopped the left wing tip appeared to be touching the grass. When the aircraft came to rest the tower controller asked the crew if they required assistance, this call was timed at 1921:15 hrs. The crew asked for the fire services to be placed on standby but the controller judged that the situation required an immediate and full emergency response and activated the fire and rescue services. The airfield fire services arrived at the aircraft at 1924 hrs and all the passengers had been evacuated by 1925 hrs. The South Yorkshire fire and rescue services arrived at 1933 hrs and assisted in ferrying passengers to the terminal building.

Crashed in unknown circumstances near Sheffield. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and all three crew members were injured.

On final approach to RAF Lindholme, while completing a local training sortie, the aircraft hit the ground, lost its undercarriage and came to rest in a field located few hundred yards short of runway. There were no casualties.

While conducting a single engine approach, the pilot-in-command loss control of the aircraft that stalled and crashed in a field located one mile east of the airfield. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair while all occupants survived.

The crew was completing a local training sortie at Sheffield Airport, South Yorkshire. On final approach, the aircraft went of control, nosed down and crashed few miles short of runway. The aircraft was destroyed and all three crew members were killed.

The crew was completing a training sortie in RAF Finningley. While flying in the vicinity of the airbase, the aircraft collided with a flock of ducks. Both engines lost power and the pilot was forced to attempt an emergency landing. The aircraft crash landed near the airfield and came to rest. There were no casualties.

The crew was completing a training sortie in RAF Finningley. Upon landing, the aircraft swung on runway, went out of control and came to rest. All crew members escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crashed on approach for unknown reason 5,5 miles from the airfield. There were no casualties.