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| Date: | Wednesday 22 July 1998 |
| Time: | 18:10 |
| Type: |  British Aerospace BAe-146-200 |
| Owner/operator: | Jersey European Airways |
| Registration: | G-JEAW |
| MSN: | E2059 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1986 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 102 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Location: | Belfast City-George Best Airport (BHD/EGAC) -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | London-Gatwick Airport (LGW/EGKK) |
| Belfast City-George Best Airport (BHD/EGAC) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The aircraft and crew were planned to operate a scheduled passenger flight from London (Gatwick) to Belfast (City) Airport. The aircraft was serviceable and the First Officer (FO) was the handling pilot for the flight. He had 3,473 hours experience on this type of aircraft. As the aircraft approached the top of descent point for Belfast (City) the flight crew obtained the latest Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS) which reported: surface wind 060°/06 kt, visibility 5,000 metres in rain, cloud scattered at 600 feet and overcast at 1,100 feet. The surface temperature and dew point were coincident at +13°C and the QNH was 1003 mb. The ATIS also identified Runway 22 as the runway in use for landing aircraft. This runway has a concrete surface with an available landing distance of 1,767 metres. The runway is served by high intensity approach lights, threshold and stop end lighting and runway edge lighting, the PAPIs are set to 3° and all lighting was serviceable.
The crew contacted Belfast approach at 1800 hrs and were given radar vectors for the ILS to Runway 22. The aircraft was established on the localiser at 10 nm from touchdown at an altitude of 1,700 feet and was handed over to the tower frequency at 1805 hrs. On initial contact with the tower frequency the controller passed the current surface wind of 040°/07 kt and the runway state as "WET WITH WATER PATCHES"; this transmission was acknowledged by the crew. At this stage the FO questioned the wisdom of continuing the approach to land given the combination of a tailwind and water on the runway, however, the commander elected to continue. At 1807 hrs the aircraft was cleared to land and passed the current surface wind of 060°/10 kt. This surface wind was subsequently updated to 080°/10 kt and then 070°/12 kt by the tower controller during the remainder of the approach. These later wind velocities equate to a tailwind component of 8 kt and 10 kt respectively when using Runway 22.
The crew could see the runway lighting, including the PAPIs, from glide-slope intercept at 1,700 feet and the approach was stabilised on the glideslope throughout. At about 500 feet the indicated airspeed was 12 to 14 kt greater than the required approach speed of 122 kt. This discrepancy was corrected by the use of speedbrake and by about 300 feet the crew were satisfied that the airspeed was now at the correct value. At the "10 feet" radio altimeter call the commander assessed that the aircraft was directly above the touchdown zone markers and the PAPIs were changing from two red and two white lights to one red and three white lights. The FO initiated the flare but the aircraft did not contact the runway and continued to float. After a short time the commander told the FO to place the aircraft on the runway and nudged the control column forward to ensure ground contact. Once on the ground the commander selected the spoilers whilst the FO commenced braking. After a further short period of time the commander also began braking and applied maximum pressure to the brake pedals. He became aware that the remaining runway appeared to be covered in standing water and believed that aquaplaning occurred as he continued to apply maximum braking pressure.
As the aircraft approached the threshold of Runway 04 the commander realised that the aircraft was
not going to stop so he used the nosewheel steering to turn to the left in an attempt vacate the runway by the taxyway. The aircraft went off the end of the runway and came to a halt on a heading almost 90° to the runway centreline and embedded in the mud about 7 metres from the runway surface. The commander realised that the aircraft was undamaged and confirmed with the cabin supervisor that there were no injuries to the passengers. He therefore decided not to initiate an emergency evacuation but instead commenced the normal shutdown checklist.
As soon as the tower controller realized that the aircraft had left the runway surface he sounded the crash alarm and the airfield fire and rescue services responded immediately. When they arrived at the aircraft the commander spoke to the fire chief through the direct vision (DV) window and requested steps be made available to allow disembarkation of the passengers. Fire and ambulance services from off the airfield also attended at the scene and remained available until all of the passengers had been moved to the passenger terminal and the aircraft had been handed over to the local aircraft engineers who organised the subsequent recovery of the aircraft. The airfield remained closed until 2019 hr.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f58e40f0b613460005db/dft_avsafety_pdf_501608.pdf
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/7332116 (Photo)
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 28 October 2014 | 9G-SBD | Starbow | 0 | Accra-Kotoka Airport (ACC/DGAA) |  |
min |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Apr-2025 06:57 | Justanormalperson | Added |
| 04-Apr-2025 06:59 | ASN | Updated [Narrative, Accident report, ] |
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