Twelve years in the past, on February 10, 2011, Manx2 Flight 7100 crashed on strategy to Cork Airport (ORK) in Eire. The Fairchild SA227 Metro III (EC-ITP) turboprop carrying ten passengers and two crew members originated at Belfast Metropolis Airport (BHD) in Northern Eire.
Launched in 1972, a Metro III is a 19-passenger turboprop with a retractable undercarriage. Two Honeywell TPE331 engines present a variety of 600 miles (1,100 km) with a most pace of 311 knots (320 mph/515 km/h).
Manx2 Flight 7100
Flight 7100 was a scheduled service between the 2 cities. Flight 7100 departed BHD at 08:10 (quarter-hour not on time) with an estimated arrival time of 09:10 at ORK. At 09:03, the plane crew tried the Instrument Touchdown System (ILS) strategy to Runway 17. With foggy situations in Cork, the pilots carried out a missed strategy properly beneath the choice top of 200 ft (60 m).
The Cork strategy supplied the reciprocal Runway 35 for the next strategy. At 09:14, the plane carried out one other missed strategy on this runway, this time simply 91 ft (30 m) above the landing level. The plane entered a holding sample at 3,000 ft (900 m), hoping the climate would enhance. After practically half-hour, the pilots commenced a 3rd strategy, once more to Runway 17 (the second time for this runway).
The commander referred to as a 3rd go-around slightly below 100 ft (30 m) from the bottom. The applying of go-around energy by the commander resulted within the lack of management. The plane rolled to the proper, and the proper wingtip got here into contact with the runway.
The plane impacted the runway within the inverted place and continued for practically 500 ft (189 m) earlier than stopping. Six folks, together with the 2 pilots, misplaced their lives. 4 out of six surviving passengers incurred extreme accidents.
Crash investigation
One of many vital causes of the crash was the pairing and coordination between the 2 pilots. With 1,800 flight hours to his credit score, the captain was promoted to pilot-in-command six days earlier than the incident. In the course of the six days, he logged 25 flight hours as a captain. The primary officer had a complete of 539 flight hours on document on the time of the incident.
Attributable to an absence of shared piloting expertise onboard, the pilot pairing was thought-about inappropriate. The airline failed to stick to the European Aviation Rules (EU-OPS) when pairing a newly promoted captain with a comparatively inexperienced first officer.
The investigation revealed that the primary officer was the pilot answerable for the plane on the time of the incident. With inclement climate and two missed approaches, the primary officer was below a excessive workload. To make issues worse, the captain took management of the ability levers in the course of the last strategy. Investigators discovered that each energy ranges had been retarded beneath flight idle, with one exhibiting -9% thrust.
The motion might have pushed the plane properly beneath the choice top in the course of the third go-around try. Slightly than one pilot dealing with flight controls and energy, the uncoordinated try, influenced by thick fog, led to the crash of Manx2 Flight 7100.
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