Serious incident Bombardier CRJ-900ER EC-JYA, Friday 25 October 2013

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Date:	Friday 25 October 2013
Time:
Type:	Bombardier CRJ-900ER
Owner/operator:	Iberia Regional, opb Air Nostrum
Registration:	EC-JYA
MSN:	15090
Engine model:	GE CF34-8C5
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 71
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Minor, repaired
Category:	Serious incident
Location:	San Sebastian Airport (LESO) - Spain
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:	Madrid-Barajas Adolfo Suárez Airport (MAD/LEMD)
Destination airport:	San Sebastián-Fuenterrabia Airport (EAS/LESO)
Investigating agency:	CIAIAC
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
The aircraft was flying from the Madrid-Barajas Airport (LEMD) to the San Sebastian Airport (LESO). After receiving the weather information from the control tower at the destination airport, the crew decided to make a visual approach to runway 04 at LESO.
During the landing the crew noticed that the landing had been harder than usual, and they decided to conduct a more thorough walkaround inspection4 of the main landing gear than usual, finding nothing out of the ordinary. They thus decided to continue the stopover and return to Madrid, where they reported the event to maintenance personnel.

Upon conducting a more exhaustive inspection, maintenance personnel detected damage to the landing gear that required grounding the aircraft. Subsequently, after a specific “hard landing” inspection (by both maintenance and the manufacturer), the gear components were replaced. None of the crew or passengers were injured.

Causes/Contributing factors
The incident was caused by the performance of a non-stabilized approach maneuver with a high sink rate in the final segment that resulted in the aircraft making a hard landing.

The following contributed to the incident:
• The presence of a southerly wind (tailwind) during the approach, which probably sped up the approach and forced the crew to increase the sink rate.
• By not holding a briefing on the maneuver they were going to execute, the crew did not prepare adequately for the approach.
• The crew did not do a go around, as required by the Operations Manual for a non-stabilized approach.
• The first officer’s lack of experience at that airfield and on that aircraft in particular

Accident investigation: