final position of Brit Air – CRJ-700 (F-GRZE) flight DB5937

Brit Air flight DB5937 : the crew was cleared for an ILS RWY 25 approach. During the descent, the controller informed them of a wind from 160° at 17 kt with gusts up to 26 kt and a lasting, severe squall.

Visibility was reduced to between 2,000 and 3,000 m and the runway was wet with water puddles. The controller reported that the previous aircraft had encountered difficulties during landing due to “aquaplaning”.

The crew made the approach in the flaps 30° configuration.

The ILS 25 approach was stable at 1,000 ft. The autopilot was disengaged at around 500 feet.

The aeroplane’s main landing gear touched down on the runway about 1,100 m from the end.

The crew of the preceding airplane stated that there was aquaplaning on the runway.

The aeroplane overran the runway, its left wing striking the localizer antennae, before coming to rest in a grass field about 200 m from the threshold of runway 07.

An emergency evacuation order was given. The 53 passengers evacuated through the left front door and the overwing exits.

The investigation showed that the accident was due to the crew’s failure to decide to carry out a missed approach when they had not made themselves aware of the runway contamination or of the remaining length of runway available.

Continuing the landing can be explained by insufficient situational awareness due to :

• The level of crew performance, additionally degraded by fatigue and routine ;
• Unfamiliarity with safety margins and inadequate TEM training;
• ˆAn approach to safety by the operator that did not encourage crews to question their plan of action.