DAVID LEARMOUNT / LONDON & PINO MODOLA / GENOA
Burned remains of six birds found on runway after fatal accident at Milan airport
A multiple birdstrike just after take-off is the suspected cause of a Bombardier Learjet 45 crash near Milan Linate airport, Italy, on 1 June. Both pilots were killed when the aircraft, operated by Linate-based air taxi company Eurojet Italia, went out of control during an attempt to land back at the airport, according to pilot witnesses on the ground.
The aircraft (I-ERJC), departing for a positioning flight to Genoa Cristoforo Colombo airport, Italy, took off from runway 36 at 15:26 local time in good weather when it hit a flock of birds soon after take-off. This caused engine problems which the pilots reported to the tower, and they requested clearance to land again. The charred remains of six birds were found on the runway, say airport authorities.
With its two 3,700lb-thrust (16.6kN) Honeywell TFE731-2s, the aircraft has a high thrust-to-weight ratio, so the damage to the engines is thought to have been considerable if power loss was the main factor in the accident.
This is the first in-service loss of a Learjet 45, although there was a non-fatal test programme accident on landing at Wallops Island, Virginia, USA, in which the aircraft was destroyed when directional control was lost and the twinjet left the runway.
Pilots on the ground estimated that the Eurojet aircraft climbed to 200ft (66m) and tried to carry out a right-hand circuit to land, but it rolled over and crashed into an empty factory during the base leg turn. Investigators have a television record of the accident because the final lap of the Giro d'Italia cycle race was being filmed on a road crowded with spectators beneath the damaged aircraft's flightpath and 400m from the crash site.
Source: Flight International
