Fairchild Metro EC-ITP |
|
| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 10 February 2011 |
| Type | Under investigation |
| Site | Cork Airport, Ireland |
| Passengers | 10 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Injuries | 6 |
| Fatalities | 6 |
| Survivors | 6 |
| Aircraft type | Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner |
| Operator | Flightline BCN |
| Tail number | EC-ITP |
| Flight origin | George Best Belfast City Airport, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Destination | Cork Airport, Cork, Republic of Ireland |
Manx2 Flight 7100 (NM7100) was a passenger flight which crashed while trying to land at Cork Airport, Cork, Republic of Ireland, on 10 February 2011. Six of the 12 people onboard died. The aircraft involved, a Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner 3 leased from Spanish company Flightline BCN, was operating Manx2's international flight from George Best Belfast City Airport, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It crashed on its third attempt to land.[1]
This was Irish aviation's deadliest crash since Air India Flight 182. It led to the closure of the airport and the diversion of all flights.[2] Investigations are under way.
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The aircraft was a Fairchild Swearingen SA.227BC Metro III,[3] c/n BC-789B,[4] registration EC-ITP[5] owned by Flightline BCN, based in Barcelona, Spain.[6] It was 19 years old at the time of the accident.[4] On 21 May 2004, it was involved in an incident during take-off from Palma de Mallorca Airport when it left the runway and ground-looped.[7] The aircraft suffered minor damage to the undercarriage and a propeller blade.[8] The aircraft had undergone a maintenance check in the week before the accident occurred.[9] The aircraft was wet leased from Flightline BCN.[10]
The captain was Jordi López, a Spaniard, and copilot Andrew Cantle, from England. The captain had more than 1,800 hours experience on the aircraft type and was employed by the Spanish airline Flightline BCN.[11] He was performing one of his first revenue-earning flights for Manx2, having recently been promoted from co-pilot.[12]
The aircraft flew from Belfast City Airport, Northern Ireland.[5] It departed at 08:12 GMT and was due to land at 09:45 GMT, in Cork, where the weather was foggy.[3][13][Note 1] An initial attempt to land on runway 17 was aborted, as was an attempt to land on runway 35. At approximately 09:47,[14][15] the right wing tip of the aircraft clipped the runway on its final landing attempt,[16] the aircraft overturned, skidded for 200 metres (220 yd) inverted,[17] departed the runway and caught fire.[18] Six people were killed,[19] including the pilot and co-pilot.[20][21] A witness inside the airport terminal building stated that the fog was so thick that the crashed aircraft could not be seen.[22] The injured were taken to Cork University Hospital for treatment.[23] Four had serious injuries,[21] while two were walking wounded.[23] As a result of the accident, Cork Airport was closed until the evening of 11 February.[17]
Martin McGuinness, the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, revealed that he had intended to be on the flight, but had changed his travel plans. McGuinness was due to travel to Cork to campaign in the forthcoming Irish general election, scheduled for 25 February.[23]
The aircraft had a crew of two, and ten passengers. Both crew members and four of the passengers were killed.[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]
| Nationality | Crew | Passengers | Killed | Injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| British | 1 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| Irish | – | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| Spanish | 1 | – | 1 | – |
| Total | 2 | 10 | 6 | 6 |
The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) opened an investigation into the accident.[15] The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were recovered from the wreckage. Four personnel from the AAIU were on scene within 90 minutes of the accident. They completed their survey of the wreckage that day.[21] The AAIU is being assisted in the investigation by personnel from the Air Accident Investigation Branch in the United Kingdom and the Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission from Spain.[32] Flightline BCN are also assisting the AAIU.[10] Assistance is also being given by the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board from the United States[17]
The wreckage of the aircraft was transported to the AAIU's examination facility at Gormanston, Co. Meath where investigators will reconstruct the aircraft as far as possible. By 14 February, five of the six survivors had been interviewed by the AAIU.[17]
The preliminary report, issued on 16 March, stated that the aircraft, being flown by the co-pilot, had deviated from the runway centre-line at final approach and the crew decided to do a third go-around 4 seconds before impact. The plane rolled to the left and to the right, and the right wing then impacted the runway. A cockpit alarm, which is believed to be the stall warning horn, sounded repeatedly in the seven seconds prior to impact. No deficiencies in the aircraft or the airfield infrastructure were identified. The investigation is continuing and the report did not include any findings.[14]
Due to the accident, Manx2 terminated their contract with Flightline BCN, who no longer provide any services for Manx2.[10] After the accident, Manx2 announced it would be ending its Belfast-City/Cork route on 13 March 2011.[33]
In April 2011, it was revealed that the European Aviation Safety Agency had initiated a procedure to suspend the Air Operator's Certificate of Flightline.[34]
On 4 May 2011, the BBC Radio 4 programme Face the Facts investigated the circumstances of the crash. It stated that the crew breached air safety regulations on all three approaches by descending below the decision height of 200 ft (61 m) before initiating a missed approach.[35] On 6 May, the Civil Aviation Authority in the United Kingdom issued a Safety Notice advising all operators within the United Kingdom of new rules regarding Non-Precision Approaches and Minimum Descent Altitudes, applicable from 16 July 2011.[36]