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Crash of a Britten-Norman BN-2B-27 Islander in Ainsdale

Date & Time: Aug 21, 1987 at 0530 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-BLDX
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Manchester – Douglas
MSN:
2181
YOM:
1983
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
11792
Captain / Total hours on type:
17.00
Circumstances:
A Britten-Norman BN-2B-27 Islander sustained substantial damage in a forced landing on a Merseyside beach. The airplane was to carry mail on an early morning service from Manchester Airport (MAN) to Ronaldsway Airport, Isle of Man. The commander arrived at the aircraft at about 03:45 hrs in the morning. As it was dark, the internal checks were done in normal cockpit lighting and, having completed the usual preflight administration, he was ready to start engines at about 04:50 hrs. The aircraft took off at 05:09 hrs, on a Special Visual Flight Rules Clearance, turned right onto a northwesterly heading, and climbed to an initial cruising altitude of 1000 feet. Just prior to crossing the coast, as conditions were conducive to the formation of carburettor icing, the commander selected HOT air on both engines for 30 seconds. At this stage the aircraft was cruising at an altitude of 2000 feet at between 120 and 130 knots with both engines set at 24 inches manifold pressure and 2300 revolutions per minute. When the aircraft was about 2 nautical miles out to sea, the port engine appeared to surge and then stopped. Shortly afterwards, the starboard engine did the same thing. At 05:28 hrs the commander informed Liverpool Approach that he had a problem and was going to attempt a forced landing at Woodvale Airfield. Having turned back towards the shore, the commander selected the TIP/MAIN switch to TIP and reduced the indicated airspeed to about 65 kt in the descent. The aircraft did not reach Woodvale and a forced landing was carried out on the beach. It was while the commander was making the aircraft safe that he noticed that the main fuel cock selectors were positioned such that both engines had been feeding from the right fuel tank. Both fuel cocks were then selected to OFF and, when the shutdown had been completed, the commander vacated the aircraft uninjured. The aircraft had landed on flat sand, but had struck a soft patch; this had resulted in the collapse of the nose and right main undercarriage, and damage to the nose and the wing centre section. Recovery attempts by local services had severely damaged the tailplane and had probably caused the sideway failure of the left undercarriage. The aircraft was totally submerged during the subsequent high tide. Examination of the aircraft, before it was recovered from the beach, showed no evidence of any pre-impact failure in the engine or flying controls. The fuel state was approximately 289 litres with the right main tank empty.
Probable cause:
Double engine failure caused by a fuel exhaustion as the fuel selector was positioned on an empty tank. 289 liters of fuel remained in other tanks at the time of the accident.
Final Report:

Crash of a Britten-Norman BN-2A-26 Islander in Walney Island

Date & Time: Jun 14, 1986 at 0415 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-BMDT
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Glasgow – Walney
MSN:
3012
YOM:
1985
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
2658
Captain / Total hours on type:
936.00
Circumstances:
The aircraft took off from Glasgow at 0317 hrs to fly to Barrow-in-Furness via Dean Cross. It left Dean Cross at flight level 50 on track for Walney Island aerodrome using radar advisory service from Manchester Control. When 12 miles north of his destination, the pilot began a slow descent over a layer of stratus cloud. On reaching Walney Island, he was still above cloud so, using positional advice from radar, he turned out to sea to continue his descent. He turned back to the airfield,still in cloud at 1500 feet and, shortly after fading from radar at approximately 1200 feet over the sea, he advised Manchester Control that he vas overhead the airfield. Air traffic control at Walney Island was not manned at the time and no formal record of local weather exists. Witnesses close to the airfield reported that the wind was calm and visibility was reduced by patchy, low-lying, sea fog. One witness, some 600 meters southwest of the touchdown zone of runway 06, saw the aircraft flying due north at a height he estimated to be between 50 and 100 feet but heard nothing unusual. Another witness, also near the southwest corner of the airfield, heard the aircraft pass overhead travelling north and then heard a cessation of engine noise followed immediately by a dull thud. Both witnesses estimated the surface visibility to be more than 200 meters at the time. The aircraft struck the ground on the centerline but some 30 meters short of the beginning of runway 06 in a steep nose-down, left wing low attitude, and came to rest within 10 meters of the initial impact. Ground marks showed the first impact to have been by the port wingtip followed immediately by the nose of the aircraft, which was crushed. The aircraft appeared then to have pivoted to the right about the nose and starboard wingtip, and to have bounced laterally to the right of the centerline before coming to rest with its tail toward the runway. The flaps were set to 25°. The main undercarriage was relatively undamaged and showed no evidence of having struck the ground during the initial impact sequence.
Probable cause:
The accident occured approximately 35 minutes after sunrise, and the approach to runway 06 would have been towards the rising sun. Examination of the wreckage revealed no pre-existing defects on the aircraft that could have had any bearing on the accident.
Final Report: