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| Date: | Thursday 4 April 1996 |
| Time: | c. 08:46 LT |
| Type: |  Fokker 50 |
| Owner/operator: | Air UK |
| Registration: | G-UKTH |
| MSN: | 20277 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1993 |
| Engine model: | P&W Canada PW125B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 41 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Location: | Humberside Airport (HUY/EGNJ) -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Amsterdam-Schiphol International Airport (AMS/EHAM) |
| Humberside Airport (HUY/EGNJ) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The aircraft was inbound to Humberside Airport on a scheduled service from Amsterdam. At
0841 hrs, as the aircraft was approaching FL 065 in the descent, the crew contacted the
Humberside approach controller. He initially cleared the aircraft to descent to 1,700 feet and later,
with other instrument pattern traffic in sight, the flight was further cleared to turn for a left base to
join visually for Runway 21. The weather was fine with a surface wind of 150°/07 kt, visibility 7
km and a temperature of 4°C with clear sky conditions.
At 0843 hrs the crew called 'visual' with the runway and were transferred to the aerodrome
controller. At the time, engineering work was being carried out to replace a faulty centerline
runway light with engineers working by the runway edge and on the runway centerline itself. The
controller, using the ground movement frequency, instructed the lighting engineers "BACK
FROM THE RUNWAY IMMEDIATELY PLEASE". An engineer replied "THERE'S A HOLE IN THE
MIDDLE...TOWER DO YOU WANT ME TO LEAVE THIS HOLE". The controller continued "THERE
SHOULDN'T BE A HOLE WE'VE GOT TRAFFIC LANDING". Somewhat concerned, the engineer
transmitted again "SAY AGAIN DO YOU WANT ME TO LEAVE IT OR DO YOU WANT ME TO FILL IT
BACK IN". The controller replied "HAVE TO BE LEFT NOW THERE'S AN AEROPLANE LANDING GET
BACK TO THE RUNWAY EDGE PLEASE". The engineer responded "THERE'S A LAMP ON THE
CENTRELINE AS WELL..THERE'S A LAMP OUT ...AND ITS JUST ADJACENT TO THE CENTRELINE".
As they checked in on frequency the Fokker 50 crew was advised by the controller "INFORMATION
FOR YOU IF YOU ARRANGE YOUR NOSE WHEEL TO BE EITHER TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT OF
RUNWAY CENTRELINE DUE TO A LAMP WHICH IS OUT OF POSITION IN THE CENTRELINE I'M
INFORMED". The crew asked for a confirmation of message and were told by the controller "YES IT'S
BEEN REMOVED...THEY HAVE REMOVED IT SO IT'S ONE OF THE CENTRELINE LIGHTS THAT'S JUST
ABOUT 100 METRES BEYOND THE PAPIs SO IF YOU ARRANGE FOR YOUR NOSE WHEEL TO BE EITHER
RIGHT OR LEFT OF THAT". The crew acknowledged that they would comply with the instruction.
At 0846 hrs the controller cleared the aircraft to land. It is believed that the commander accepted the landing clearance in the belief that he could easily avoid what he assumed to be a small hole left by the removal of the centreline light. The landing was uneventful and nothing unusual was seen by the crew until the aircraft flared for landing. As they back-tracked the runway the crew informed the
tower that "HE'S THE LAMP SITTING OUT ON THE RUNWAY IT'S GOT SOME KIND OF METAL TOOL
STICKING OUT UP INTO THE AIR...AND ALL SORTS OF CABLE ON THE RUNWAY..."
The controller replied that he was not fully aware of the situation and was under the impression that
the engineers were just changing a light bulb. Three minutes after the landing the aerodrome
controller contacted the airfield engineers again and instructed them to "..GET THAT LAMP FILLED IN
IMMEDIATELY AND RETIRE FROM THE RUNWAY".
After parking on stand the aircraft was inspected by ground engineers and the crew but no damage
was found. Inspection of the runway revealed that the displaced centreline light assembly and its
associated lifting handle and cable were also undamaged. The aircraft commander informed ATC,
however, that he would forward an Air Safety Reportto the Safety Data Department of the CAA.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f075e5274a131700030d/dft_avsafety_pdf_502368.pdf
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/342022 (Photo)
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 18 October 1996 | G-UKTH | Air UK | 0 | Aberdeen International Airport (ABZ/EGPD) | |
non |
| Centre of Gravity outside limits | ||||||
| 17 May 1999 | G-UKTH | KLM UK | 0 | London-Stansted Airport (STN/EGSS) | |
min |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Aug-2025 23:01 | Justanormalperson | Added |
| 09-Aug-2025 23:01 | Justanormalperson | Updated [Accident report, ] |
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